


Winter Siege

by invisiblewing



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Cold, Dragons, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-04 03:31:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 54,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17890673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisiblewing/pseuds/invisiblewing
Summary: Nordic winters are brutally cold, and they do a great job at depleting resources in Berk. Surviving one of these winters often takes the determination, grit, and stubbornness of a Viking. That is, as long as no problems arise. But when a horde of venomous and aggressive dragons invade Berk, survival becomes something to work at in order to accomplish.Based loosely on the Dreamworks Dragons episode "Frozen."





	1. Chapter 1

"Hiccup, wake up, son."

This felt like an ungodly hour. The air around me was frigid, and I just wanted to sleep the rest of the winter away.

I blearily opened my eyes to find a mountain of a man standing about five feet away from my bed. He was wearing a dark green tunic and had a fiery red beard splayed across his chest. His name was Stoick, and fittingly, he was the chief of our Viking tribe.

Just like Stoick fit him, my name fit me. Hiccup, like that irritating little spasm that occasionally happens in your diaphragm. I was stick-figure thin with a shock of brown hair, missing the lower half of my left leg, and the best beard I could possibly grow was peach fuzz.

I glanced toward my dragon, Toothless, and saw him curled up on a large, flat rock with his eyes closed. Every time he exhaled, a plume of steam escaped from his nose.

"Mm. Y-yeah, Dad?" I yawned, sat up, and stretched. I took a deep breath, feeling my lungs burn slightly.

"Bucket and Mulch were fishing this morning and found Johann's boat stuck in an ice sheet."

"Johann..." I repeated, trying to connect that name with someone. "Trader Johann..."

I almost rolled my eyes. My opinion of Johann wasn't very favorable, mostly due to how much he talked. It didn't help that he had a slightly high-pitched voice.

After a short pause, I asked, "And Bucket and Mulch brought him back, right?"

That would have been the sensible thing to do. But then I remembered Bucket and Mulch weren't exactly the sharpest axes on Berk.

"No, they didn't," he replied. "Would you believe me if I told you Trader Johann refused that?"

"N–yes," I said, correcting myself mid-word. A pang of realization jolted me into being fully awake. "Johann won't let his boat out of his sight..." I paused for a second. "Aaaand that means we've gotta figure out how to get his boat back on water."

"Sounds like you're ready," my dad said with a hint of satisfaction. "You and Toothless can eat breakfast, but make sure you find Johann _today_. I don't think he'll live through the night on that boat."

Of all the people in Berk, I had inadvertently and effortlessly recruited myself to retrieve Johann. I wondered what hyperbolic I-just-barely-escaped-with-my-life story was going to come out of his mouth today.

"Got it," I said in resignation.

I groaned as I got out of bed and shuffled over to Toothless, my footsteps making an alternating _pat-clunk_ sound on the wooden floor. His eyes were already open, so he had probably been awake for at least our conversation.

"Hey there, bud," I whispered to Toothless.

He grunted quietly and lifted his head to look at me. Toothless stood and stretched with a yawn, displaying how he got his name – his retractable teeth. A cloud of steam exited his mouth as he closed it. He padded off his rock and lowered his head, rubbing underneath my left hand in a plea for attention.

Toothless was a Night Fury, arguably the most elusive dragon known to mankind, probably because he was the only Night Fury we were aware of. He had a jet-black hide and deep, yellow-green eyes that stared directly into a person's soul.

Across the room was my winter clothing – a yakskin coat and thick, matching trousers. I donned them and glanced at Toothless again. A brief twang of jealousy coursed through me because he could tolerate the cold incredibly well, even with no fur or presumably other type of insulation. His ability to produce fire came in quite handy during winters.

Just like any other place in the world, Berk had four seasons. That was where the similarity stopped – the number. Most places experienced spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Berk, on the other hand, had winter, devastating winter, lethal winter, and about four weeks of mildly warmer weather. Those four weeks had already passed, taking winter with them.

"C'mon, bud," I told him. "Breakfast first, then we'll go somewhere."

I plodded down the stairs after Toothless, then opened our door. Immediately, I squinted from the blast of cold air hitting my eyes and face.

Toothless' head was next to me, and as soon as I opened the door for him, his eyes brightened and his mouth opened in excited anticipation. He immediately leapt out, throwing snow behind him. He turned and looked at me for a second before continuing to romp around.

"Aw, come on, Toothless," I complained sarcastically as my eyes adjusted to the cold. "The snow looked so nice..."

Toothless seemed to love being in snow, probably because he thought he could hide in it and jump out playfully, surprising unsuspecting Vikings. It was ridiculously easy to spot him from a mile off because his jet-black hide contrasted with the bright intensity of the snow around him. To me, these moments were absolutely hilarious.

I let Toothless jump around until he found a deeper pocket of snow by accident. He grunted in mild alarm, and then he was silent and still after that.

Even though I could see Toothless most of the time when he was preparing an ambush like this, he still startled me every time he jumped. He didn't need stealth when he was so explosive in his movements. This time, though, the drift was high enough to completely hide him, which was noteworthy because he was a moderately-sized dragon, able to carry two people on his back while flying.

"All right, buddy," I said with a grin to the air in front of me. I walked out and began tip-toeing my way in his direction. As I neared the drift he had crashed into, my heart rate quickened slightly. I knew he was going to jump out soon, but I didn't know exactly when he'd do it.

"Toothless?" I said, trying to lull him out of his hiding spot.

I took one step to my left with my peg, and the drift two feet in front of me exploded in a shower of ice, snow, and a Night Fury. I let out a yelp as I fell backwards, just like normal. The bursts of snow Toothless could create during an ambush were sudden enough to make even my dad stumble.

I fell on my rear, and Toothless lunged forward, nudging me on my back with his snout. He had his teeth bared, glaring directly into my face with a soft growl. Just as quickly, he pulled his mouth into a grin, his eyes widening in happiness. He grunted and swiped his tongue quickly up my chest and face and then bounded toward the great hall with a short, excited roar.

I wiped off Night Fury saliva as I stood and cautiously followed him. I had designed and made a few iron plates to fit at the bottom of my peg for snowy conditions like this. They were flat disks, about a quarter inch thick and just under six inches in diameter. Last year, I learned very quickly that a simple peg would sink to the bottom of any snow drift I stepped into. But even having that plate, I still felt uneasy about walking on snow, like my center of gravity was just a little too high.

Toothless was waiting impatiently for me as I approached the great hall. We walked in... well, _I_ walked in. Toothless nearly danced his way through the doors. He followed me to a table, where I told him to wait. I grabbed a basket with fish and a dish with a cooked salmon for myself and brought the basket back to Toothless, flipping the lid open. He grunted eagerly as he stuck his head into the basket and pulled out a fish. He looked at me as he bit it in half and swallowed.

"Really?" I asked him. While I loved Toothless's little quirks, I sometimes wished he'd find different ways to show his feelings for me.

Toothless shuffled around his basket and stood on all fours with his head maybe a foot from my right shoulder. Before I could say or do anything, his eyes lost focus as his stomach sucked in. After three hurking cough-like movements, Toothless brought the front end of the fish back up with a slight gagging sound and spat it into my lap.

I tensed, thoroughly revolted by the idea of regurgitating something. The fish landed with an audible splat on my left thigh, and not too long after that, the wetness began seeping through my pants leg. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and brushed the fish off my lap using my fingertips. It landed on the wooden floor just in front of my right foot.

"Thanks, buddy," I said, trying to at least sound grateful.

For Toothless, sharing a meal like that was probably one of the strongest ways for him to say he liked me. I scratched under his chin for a few seconds, making him rumble in pleasure, his eyes closed. After I turned to my meal, Toothless went back to his basket, and we ate in silence.

I was about to take the dish and basket to the back of the hall when Astrid sat down across from me, Stormfly a few feet away from her.

Astrid's dragon, Stormfly, was a Deadly Nadder – a bipedal dragon about ten feet tall and had a build similar to a bird. Her back was a sky-blue color, and her belly was off-white. Just like most dragons, she had the ability to blast fire from her mouth. As a Nadder, she also had venomous spines on her tail that she could whip at any threat, often with startling accuracy.

"I saw Toothless attack you earlier," she said.

"Oh, yeah. He, uh, likes to do that," I replied.

Astrid grinned slightly, as she had been the recipient of a few of Toothless' recent "attacks" as well. She was about my height and age with shoulder-length blonde hair that she usually kept in a short braided ponytail. Her bangs fell neatly just above her eyes. She was wearing a matching set of yakskin coat and trousers that I had made for her recently.

"I heard Trader Johann is stuck in an ice sheet," she said, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yeah, my dad said I need to get him today. I'm still trying to figure out why he chose not to come back with Mulch and Bucket."

Astrid blinked in disbelief. "Does he think the junk on his boat is too valuable to lose?" she asked.

"That was my first guess. But I thought Johann was smarter than wanting to stay stranded in the middle of winter."

"So you're gonna find him and basically kidnap him?" she inferred.

"If you wanna say it like that, then... yes," I replied with a hint of sarcasm. She grinned.

Stormfly nudged Astrid's shoulder with her snout, telling her it was time to go somewhere.

"Well, good luck finding Johann," Astrid said. "Watching Toothless ambush you gave me an idea for the Academy. I think some of the dragons will be able to find people buried under snow. Maybe you can help us when you get back." She got up and walked Stormfly out of the great hall.

The Dragon Academy was formed shortly after dragons integrated with us on Berk. I was in charge of it, and I very quickly found out how much work was needed to keep it running. It didn't help that my dad kept slowly piling other non-dragon responsibilities on my shoulders.

I turned to Toothless, who was looking at me expectantly. He had an expression behind his eyes that told me he wanted to be airborne.

"You ready, bud?" I asked him.

After a moment, I stood and guided Toothless out of the great hall. As we passed through the double doors, he bumped me in the right shoulder slightly with his head, itching for a flight. I removed the plate from the bottom of my peg and stowed it in a satchel I carried at my waist. I climbed onto his back and hooked into the stirrup with my peg, which was cast from iron and custom fit just for this purpose. Toothless jumped into the air without waiting for my command.


	2. Chapter 2

As we rose higher into the air, I nudged Toothless with my left knee. It was my signal to him saying I was controlling where we went for the flight.

Toothless and I were a matching pair because both of us were missing something. I had torn off his left tail fin when I was dumber about two years ago. I had wanted to be "strong," which, at the time, meant killing a dragon. I had shot Toothless down with a contraption that fired a bola but realized I didn't have the courage to kill him.

The look on his face when I was ready to plunge my knife into his heart had burned itself permanently into my mind. He was terrified, and it seemed like he was pleading with me not to kill him. From that moment forth, I made a silent promise to myself never to kill a dragon, even if it threatened me with my life.

"Okay, Toothless," I said with a deep breath, wondering where Mulch and Bucket had found Trader Johann this morning. Most of the time, their fishing routes took them west, past the yak pastures. 

"Let's try west," I mused, looking left. I rolled out with my peg and leaned that way to help Toothless turn.

As soon as Toothless picked up speed, my ears felt like miniature knives were slicing through them due to the rush of cold air. I tucked my chin slightly, trying to protect my ears with my shoulders.

We crossed over the edge of the island. An ice sheet about thirty feet in width was resting on top of the water, seemingly extending toward the horizon. It meandered left and right as it pointed west, probably tracing out areas with less current. I knew there were islands in this direction, but it would have been a long shot for this ice sheet to connect them to Berk.

Within a few minutes, Toothless and I reached the fishing area Mulch and Bucket frequented. Several hundred yards in front of us was what looked like a boat, which I presumed was Johann's.

Mentally, I braced myself for what was about to happen. Johann would happily exclaim his usual "Ah, Master Hiccup!" greeting, followed immediately by some grandiose yarn he had probably rehearsed a zillion times just for this exact moment.

The boat grew in size as we approached. I looked at it curiously, wondering how in the world he had gotten stuck here. The ice sheet was at least a foot thick, and yet Johann's boat had a small circle around it that was ice-free. His boat was in the water; it just had no way of getting to any other water around. But strange things happened every day in this world, so I pushed wondering about the boat out of my mind for now.

"Toothless, land there," I said, pointing to an area of the ice sheet that looked stable enough to hold him.

As we approached our little area, the air around us grew steadily colder. I guessed Johann had been surprised by the ice locking him in and tried to free his boat by himself. Obviously, it wasn't a good idea, especially when the ice only was going to get thicker in the coming hours.

Toothless landed without any effort, the sound from his wingbeats dissipating almost instantly. Besides being frigid, the air felt very lonely. Berk was just barely in sight with an ice sheet that extended both ways from Toothless and me. I looked away from home, and the sheet seemed to stretch to infinity.

I jumped off Toothless' back and walked toward the circle of water surrounding Johann's boat.

"Trader Johann?" I shouted. "Johann! Are you in there?"

No reply. Only the waves lapping rhythmically against the boat made any noise.

Johann's boat showed no signs of him leaving. There was no plank connecting the boat to the ice sheet anywhere nearby. Granted, the circle of water around his boat was small enough to jump to and from the ice anyway.

I checked as far as I could in either direction on the ice sheet, seeing only whitish ice and blue water.

I grabbed the side rail of the boat, ready to lift myself on board when a slight burning sensation coursed through my palms and fingers. The rail was completely frozen over. A small weight dropped in my chest as I realized this rescue was probably going to become a salvage.

Using my peg for traction against the ice-covered hull, I climbed up and flopped on board with a groan. I stood and glanced at Toothless. He simply stared up at me, watching and waiting.

I rubbed my palms against my chest, trying to warm them up after the contact with the rail.

Trader Johann's boat had two levels on it. There was the deck on the top, which had items that weren't going to be thrown overboard due to wind or rough water. Then there was the hold down below, which housed and protected items that could easily be lost if the conditions were right. A quick glance around the deck revealed nothing. Johann usually had several barrels and crates full of different trinkets and knickknacks, and today was no different, except for a thin sheet of ice covering everything on deck.

I shivered slightly as I made my way to the trap door leading to the hold, grabbed the handle, and pulled upward. Predictably, it was frozen shut, and the handle was just as frozen as the railing. No crackling sound met my ears, so I stopped trying to open the trap door after one attempt.

 _Why would Johann refuse to leave his boat in conditions like this?_ I wondered. _Or has he left already?_  

I doubted Bucket and Mulch had even tried to contact Johann. My guess was they noticed the state of the trap door and came back to Berk with a flimsy lie.

I walked to the side of the boat and found Toothless still in his spot, looking up at me. He blinked and grunted slightly as I came into view.

"Come up here, bud," I told him, motioning with my arms.

Without hesitation, Toothless hunkered down and jumped. Two wing beats later, he landed with a hollow _ka-thump_ on the deck, making the boat rock slightly. The hull bumped into the ice sheet with a faint grinding noise, and the water protested vigorously for a few seconds.

I rubbed the top of Toothless's head, listening to him murmur. I led him to the trap door and pointed to the seam with my left index finger, making eye contact with him.

Toothless groaned slightly, like he was thinking. He sidled up to where my hand was and looked closely at it. A second later, he pulled in a deep breath. I removed my hand just before a concentrated stream of white fire came out of his mouth.

I pointed a little to his right so that he could see where I wanted him to melt the ice. He followed slowly, knowing what would happen if he tried to chase my hand. I had been burned twice by that stream of fire he could create, and if nothing else, I had found out it was incredibly painful.

Toothless followed my hand, staying several inches behind as we finished one side of the trap door.

I pointed to a new section of ice for Toothless to melt. He repositioned himself and began just like a few moments ago.

"You did great, bud," I said to him with a quick hug after we finished tracing around the trap door. Toothless whuffed appreciatively.

Grabbing the handle once more, I pulled, opening the door with minimal effort. I simply loved how useful dragons could be when we showed the patience and friendship they deserved.

I swung the trap door open, where it caught using two chains on either side. The chains were sheathed in ice, but the friction broke most of the frozen layer, creating a small rain of ice into the hold.

Inside the hold, it was completely dark, save for the light filtering in from the grey sky above. I was pretty sure we had enough time left to get Johann out of his boat and back to Berk, considering Toothless and I had eaten breakfast not an hour ago.

"Johann?" I asked, looking into the hold.

No answer.

There were ten wooden slats acting as steps leading down into the hold. The top step had a glisten to it, meaning the hold was just as frozen as the deck.

Pulling in a deep breath, I took the steps one at a time, peg first, followed by my right foot. The ice crackled and spider-webbed each time my peg landed.

The air around me had a faint fishy odor, almost like Johann had a stock of fish nearby and had ignored it for too long. I glanced around the hold, but nothing caught my attention.

As I reached the last slat leading into the hold, I looked downward to make sure my final step would land on solid wood. Almost instantly, my left hand clamped onto the rail, and I gasped in surprise, pulling in a sharply painful breath of freezing air. My hand seemingly developed claws, keeping me secured to the rail, but my momentum pulled me to my left. My right foot crashed down onto solid wood a couple inches away from a head full of neatly-kept brown hair that had small speckles of frost.

It was Johann. He was curled in a ball at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes open but glassy. Where his skin was showing, it was a light blue. His lips and fingernails were a much darker shade, almost purple. His hands were curled around his knees, and on the back of his left hand, there was a small puncture mark that had stopped bleeding some time ago, like he had been stuck with the tip of a dagger.

"Johann!" I shouted.

He didn't move.

_"Johann!"_

Johann didn't respond, but a high-pitched snarl did. It sounded like it came from inside the boat, at most twenty feet from me. My blood chilled, which I thought was impossible considering the frigid weather.

"Oh, gods," I whispered.

Just before I turned around to stagger back up the stairs, a pair of red eyes with slits for pupils revealed themselves from the darkness. It looked like a dragon, but I had no idea what kind it was. I had never seen anything like this before.

It was six or seven feet tall, bipedal with green skin. Its arms were short compared to its body, but its legs and tail appeared to be very strong, like it was a keen runner and jumper. On top of its head was a green frill. And just barely visible on its back were a pair of what looked like vestigial wings. It was probably a flightless dragon, which supported my guess about it being a runner.

The dragon gave a high-pitched roar that echoed within the hold and leaped forward, bringing its entire body into the light. It showed off its long, sharp teeth, and I noticed a red tip at the end of its tail, something like a poker we used for fires. It jumped onto Johann's left calf and aggressively raked its leg toward his ankle in a threat display. The sound of the dragon ripping through Johann's pants leg was unmistakable, and in the claws' wake were three deep red furrows running down the length of Johann's calf.

I yelped and slipped on the ice-covered stairs, landing in a sitting position. I quickly rolled over onto my front and scrambled back up to the deck on all fours. I slammed the trap door shut and lost my balance in panic, falling clumsily onto my side.

The dragon cackled from below. Toothless responded by growling at the trap door, probably telling whatever was down there to leave us alone.

I was breathing heavily, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. My breath was making large plumes of steam every second or so, but I didn't notice the cold. Toothless crept up to me and nudged my shoulder gently with his snout. I jumped slightly at his touch, still on-edge from the encounter with that dragon.

"O-okay, bud," I stammered. I rolled onto all fours and haltingly stood up.

An idea took form in my mind as I slowly calmed down to "moderate panic." I committed to it, thinking I was either insane or stupid for doing this. But if by some minute chance Trader Johann was still alive, he needed shelter that was better than a frozen boat with a territorial monster that could eviscerate him. And he needed that shelter _now_. Leaving him for my dad would spell his death from that dragon or hypothermia.

I groaned quietly, knowing the only solution was to somehow get rid of the dragon. Toothless couldn't fit into the hold, so I had to draw that dragon out of hiding. But bringing it into the light meant Johann was in the way of a fireball. I whispered a quick prayer to the gods, asking for Toothless not to miss or kill the dragon. I only wanted it incapacitated enough to get Johann out of his prison.

"Battle ready," I said quietly to Toothless, pointing at the trap door.

He hunkered slightly and glared at the door like he could see through it.

I grabbed the handle of the door and lifted, opening it again. A shaft of light filtered into the hold, where the dragon was still standing guard near Johann.

 _Too risky_ , I thought. I had to get the dragon away from Johann.

Once the light illuminated the dragon, it turned toward us and snarled, telling us to go away. Toothless returned its message by intensifying his glare and growling at the dragon.

I watched as the smaller dragon glared back at Toothless, but quieted somewhat. I wasn't sure if it was the cold or just the feeling of tension in the air, but something didn't feel right. Somehow, I knew Toothless hadn't intimidated that dragon into retreating. The dragon tensed slightly, like it was about to attack.

After a few seconds, nothing happened.

Toothless and the other dragon simply glared at each other, growling.

I scowled as I realized I had to take the initiative. If I didn't, I'd fall asleep at exactly the wrong time or Johann would die with me looking on.

Gods, I really didn't want to do this.

 _Toothless, just please knock this dragon unconscious,_ I thought.

Slowly, I moved my left hand toward the satchel at my waist and opened it. I reached my fingertips inside and surreptitiously pulled out the snow plate, trying to keep the element of surprise on my side. Without giving myself a chance to think about it, I pulled in a quick breath and tossed the plate into the hold.

The dragon quickly reacted to the new object flying past its head, darting toward the snow plate as it clattered to the wooden floor. The dragon whipped its tail around and stabbed through the plate with a resounding _thunk,_ showing off how brutally efficient it was at killing things.

"PLASMA BLAST!" I shouted.

Toothless gave a loud grunt as the hold lit up in bright blue. The fireball illuminated every glistening texture that had been covered by ice on the boat and then disappeared with a loud, hollow explosion as it collided with the dragon.

The dragon flew backwards, slammed into the wall with a shriek, and slumped motionlessly on the floor, its right side a gaping hole of blood and bone. Its eyes were still open, but they had no life in them.

We had killed this dragon. Just like when it killed my snow plate, Toothless showed the same clean, brutal, and uncaring efficiency.

Was it in cold blood? Probably.

Was there a reason? Definitely.

Johann would have died if I hadn't taken action like that. I stood there in shock, finally realizing I had broken my promise to myself. A weight dropped in my gut, as I felt like I had let all of Berk down with this one action.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't care that I was having a crisis of conscience. The sky opened slightly, letting snow fall to the earth. As several snowflakes broke my reverie, I knew we had to get Johann to Berk soon. The flurry that started only seconds ago was probably going to become a blizzard within an hour. And Johann was still lying in front of us.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Inside the hold, Trader Johann hadn't moved at all throughout our little skirmish, including when the dragon raked its claws down his calf.

I haltingly stepped down into the hold and paused, my gaze riveted to Johann. He was still curled into a ball, but his leg wasn't bleeding. As the seconds passed, the worry that was building itself in my gut threatened to explode.

I held my breath, hoping somehow what I assumed was wrong.

Focusing intently on his nose and mouth, I saw a miniature cloud of steam roll toward his chest. Several seconds later, there was another cloud.

Even if his breaths were shallow, he was still alive through some kind of miracle.

The air I had been holding in my chest escaped my mouth as a sharp burst of steam. I placed my hands on my hips in relief, and my shoulders dropped several inches. Johann may have been alive, but I needed a miracle of my own to get him into Berk.

Toothless looked into the hold and moaned softly. I glanced up at him, seeing the worry behind his eyes. Refocusing on Johann, I walked around to his injured leg. I guessed it took me and Toothless about fifteen minutes to get here, which was probably ten minutes too long for Trader Johann.

I glanced around the hold, wondering if there was any object I could use as a tourniquet. Nothing caught my attention quickly, and I didn't want to wander around the hold when Johann could die at any minute.

However, I did notice the floor around us was covered in fish entrails. This wasn't close to typical Johann. He was always meticulous in keeping his boat clean to entice people to trade with him.

After a few seconds of looking around, I finally realized my hands were still resting on my belt, almost like they knew what I needed in advance. I whipped my belt off before giving myself a chance to consider my decency in front of others.

I wrapped the belt just below Johann's left knee, tied a reef knot, and cinched it. Instinctively, I checked Johann's calf. He still wasn't bleeding.

For a few seconds, I wondered why there wasn't a river of crimson gushing out of his leg. He wasn't bleeding before I got to him, so I guessed my belt was there for safety's sake.

After puzzling for several seconds, I had my answer: the cold. It was Johann's saving grace for now, but it was also his worst enemy.

I grumbled in frustration as I walked around to Johann's back. If I didn't hurry, Johann would freeze to death, and I would somehow be the one responsible.

"Let's just get this done," I mumbled.

I looped my left arm underneath his own and worked my right hand underneath his right shoulder. I knew better than to bend over and use my back to lift him, so I squatted and held for a beat. Using my legs, I stood, which lifted Johann like he was a rag doll.

Adjusting my right hand so it was underneath his right arm, I clasped my hands together and began walking backward. I took the steps one at a time, making sure to gain footing with my peg before I moved. Johann's boots clunked lifelessly against the slats with each step.

I pulled Johann into the outside air, which was further chilled by a blustery wind and much thicker snow than just a few minutes prior.

Toothless seemed to be acting generally calm despite the worried look behind his eyes. He watched with curious interest as we exited the hold. 

I paused, wondering how in the world I was going to get Johann onto Toothless' back. There probably wasn't a good solution to this, so I went with the first idea that came to my mind.

I looped my hands around his midsection and squatted again. I lifted with my legs and nearly threw Johann across Toothless' upper back with a groan. There was no other place for him. Behind the saddle, and Toothless would be restricted in his wing movement. Along Toothless' spine and Johann would plunge into the ocean about as quickly as Toothless could shoot a fireball. Have Toothless hold him with his claws? I couldn't take that chance, hoping his clothes would stay intact. Johann couldn't move anyway, so how would Toothless land without hurting him?

I hitched my pants and trousers up, climbed onto the saddle, and adjusted Johann to make sure he wouldn't slide off. I reached over him and stroked Toothless near the back of his head.

"Okay, buddy. Take it slow," I said to Toothless. To make sure he got the point, I hooked in slowly with my peg.

Toothless seemed to figure it out because he lifted from Johann's boat gently and began cruising toward Berk, barely pumping his wings as he flew. The entire time, I kept one hand on Johann's belt and another on the saddle. But it felt like I didn't even need to worry about Johann, thanks to Toothless' expert flying.

Toothless landed in the middle of the plaza for everyone to see... well, everyone who was brave enough to face the bone-chilling cold. Astrid, Gobber, and my dad were there, along with about three other hardy souls.

Both my hands were frozen shut after the flight back home. I slowly worked some movement into them, just enough to let go of Johann's belt and the iron bar on the saddle. I unhooked with my peg and cautiously slid off Toothless' back.

Gobber was the first person to reach us, hobbling with a pronounced limp due to his left peg leg. He was about the same size as my dad and was bald except for a long blond mustache that fell neatly on either side of his mouth, almost like two ponytails. In addition to missing his lower left leg, his right hand was also gone. He used a variety of interchangeable prosthetics to account for his missing hand.

"Looks like you caught more than just fish," he observed.

As I hit the ground, my yakskin trousers slipped a little, taking my pants with them. I quickly brought my hands to my waist, cinched the pants and trousers back up, and turned to Gobber like nothing had happened.

"Johann needs help," I said, taking a step away from him.

Gobber's expression immediately clouded over. He took a closer look at Johann and noticed my belt wrapped around his leg.

His eyes went wide, and then he quickly said, "Bandages. Thread. Needle. Seaweed. My house. Now."

I was already half-running, half-hopping to the forge where we had a large stock of those items. The snow plate for my peg was useless and stuck on Johann's boat, and gravity kept threating to pull both pairs of pants I was wearing downward.

I grabbed what seemed like way too much seaweed and fine thread. Pausing just enough to keep from impaling my fingers, I carefully picked up the needle and rammed it into a pile of soft leather bandages. I dashed out of the armory and nearly fell face-first into the snow I had all of a sudden forgotten about.

By the time I got about ten feet away from Gobber's home, Johann was already on the wooden floor, lying on his front. On Gobber's right was his prosthetic mug, full of what smelled like strong mead, his preferred treatment for open wounds.

Gobber liked to joke that you get the person inebriated on the mead first, then use the rest of it to actually clean the wound. There wasn't as much screaming that way. Although, considering the state Johann was in, I had a pretty good hunch that first step would be omitted.

"Hiccup, what are you waiting for!?" he shouted.

I handed him the soft leather and seaweed without saying a word, rushed over to the door, and slammed it shut. He took it from me without looking or saying anything as I hitched both my pairs of pants up for the third time.

Gobber worked Johann's boot off his left foot and pulled his pant leg up. He untied my belt from Johann's leg and threw it on the floor near my right foot, muttering something about not needing a tourniquet.

I picked up the belt without answering him, checking it for red splotches that were obviously not there. It was still earth-colored, so I put it back on my waist and immediately felt much more secure about my pants. Just to make sure though, I hitched them up for the fourth time.

As soon as he found the needle and thread, I silently excused myself and walked out of his house. I had no interest in watching him sew Johann's leg back together.

Not a second after I closed Gobber's door behind myself, my dad's voice seemingly ambushed my ears.

"What happened?"

I looked up and froze on the spot. Every bit of attention coming from the small crowd suddenly became a crushing weight on my shoulders. I knew I wasn't in any trouble, at least I _hoped_ I wasn't. But I still hated being the center of attention like this, especially when said attention was unexpectedly heaped upon me.

"Uh," I started, hoping my mind would start working within the next two seconds. "Trader Johann... was trapped in... in his boat," I stammered.

My mind was racing. I wanted to tell them about how everything was frozen. About how Johann was seemingly paralyzed. And about how there was a dragon I had never seen trapped with him. But the connection between my mind and mouth was almost nonexistent.

"What happened to him?" my dad clarified, gesturing toward Gobber's house.

"I... uh... adragonearlykilim," I said way too quickly.

"What?" he asked.

I pulled in a breath that stung my throat, forcing my mind to focus on each syllable. "Johann     was     trapped     inside     his     boat     with     a     dragon     that     almost     killed     him."

"What did it look like?" Fishlegs asked from somewhere to my right. I hadn't noticed him when we landed a few moments ago. He ambled toward us.

Fishlegs was about my age but was overweight and had short, yellowish hair. He had an encyclopedic knowledge about any dragon species known and wasn't afraid to flaunt it.

I turned slightly toward him, trying to remember as much as I could about it. "Green... stood on two legs... red eyes... no wings... sharp tail..."

"And you said there was just _one?"_ he asked pointedly. There was a hint of urgency in his tone. It seemed like Fishlegs knew exactly what was going on, and it didn't sound good.

I nodded again after a brief pause.

"That can't be right," he said quietly after some thought.

"What do you mean?" my dad asked him. The crushing weight that was suffocating me felt like it had been removed almost instantly.

"I think Hiccup saw a Speed Stinger," Fishlegs said. He was totally calm under the exact same pressure I had just experienced. I felt jealous of him for a brief moment.

My dad was silent, which was a signal to continue.

"Uh," Fishlegs started, collecting his thoughts. "Speed Stingers move in large groups. Hiccup either saw a scout or a rogue dragon. And if it was a scout, that means there will be more coming."

 _"Here?"_ my dad asked almost immediately.

"Yes," I replied before Fishlegs could answer. The crushing weight re-settled on my shoulders, but this time I didn't feel so trapped because I was ready for it. "There's an ice sheet that connects Johann's boat to Berk, and it goes on after his boat."

"That doesn't explain why Johann wasn't moving," my dad pointed out.

"Oh, Speed Stingers have a venom in their tails that causes paralysis," Fishlegs immediately answered as if it was common knowledge.

Everybody had a different reaction. My dad nodded in understanding, Astrid and I exchanged worried glances, and another person nearby whispered something to her cohort. After a short moment, her friend whispered something back.

"Wh-what do we do?" Fishlegs asked meekly, breaking the silence that had fallen around us.

"Break the ice sheet before the Speed Stingers get here," I said matter-of-factly. 

"And just how are you going to do that?" my dad asked.

"Dragons," I answered.

"Can you get Toothless to break it?"

"I... don't think so."

I knew Toothless didn't have enough sustained firepower to break through a foot of ice. He could probably shatter sections of it, but it would take a ridiculous number of fireballs to create a rift that was large enough to keep the Speed Stingers away. That brought in a problem I had only experienced once with Toothless – his shot limit. We needed to get rid of a large section of ice quickly.

"Hookfang would be a better choice," I concluded.

I was ready for the backlash. Snotlout would never be able to figure out why in Thor's name I wanted to melt some ice. With him, preemptively addressing a problem didn't make sense.

Snotlout was about a year older than me with a husky build and almost no mental dexterity. He embodied the traditional view of Vikings by showing he had a lot of strength and stubbornness. His dragon was a Monstrous Nightmare named Hookfang, significantly larger than Toothless with a reddish hide. Most importantly, Hookfang's fire was similar to a continuous lava flow.

Before anyone could say or do anything, Astrid said in resignation, "Well, let's get Snotlout now. While we still have time." She strode out of the small crowd, Fishlegs not far behind.

"C'mon, buddy," I said to Toothless.

He grunted as he began following me. We were about twenty paces behind Astrid and Fishlegs when they reached Snotlout's house. Astrid knocked at his door, and about five seconds later, Snotlout appeared.

"... melt the ice," Astrid concluded as I got within earshot of her.

Snotlout looked at her, then switched his gaze to Fishlegs, then to me and Toothless. He grinned.

"Wait, so let me see if I understand this. You're asking for _my_ help? None of _your_ dragons can do this?"

"Yep," I said quickly. "Unless, of course, you want to wait for any problems to show up." Snotlout looked at me quizzically, so I continued. "Sure, you can wait. And then once everyone here is dead, you can think about how it would have taken you and Hookfang five minutes to keep everyone safe. How you chose to be self-centered instead of actually contributing."

"All right! Stop! I get it!" Snotlout shouted. "Geez, you don't have to go so far..."

"Actually, he's not exaggerating," Fishlegs chimed in.

Snotlout immediately shut his mouth.

"Snotlout, the longer you wait here, the closer those dragons get to Berk," my dad said from behind me and Toothless. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing my dad could get anyone on board with him.

Snotlout glared at us for a beat, then closed his door behind him. "I guess I'll help. But you had better be waiting with something good for me when I'm finished," he threatened as he eyed Astrid with a sideways glance.

"Get rid of the ice or Hookfang is gone," my dad replied, giving Snotlout an oblique answer to his "something good."

All of the color that was left in Snotlout's face vanished in an instant. I knew he and Hookfang weren't as close as me and Toothless, but he still liked being around his dragon.

"Got it," Snotlout said quietly. He began trudging through the snow to fetch his dragon.


	4. Chapter 4

I hopped onto Toothless's back and clicked into the stirrup. He took off just as I nudged him with my left knee. I directed Toothless back toward Johann's boat, but stopped his flight a few hundred feet off the western coast of Berk. Snotlout landed with Hookfang near us. Astrid and Stormfly arrived maybe twenty seconds later.

"Your dad asked me to make sure Snotlout does this right," Astrid told us with a hint of a threat behind her voice.

Snotlout grimaced slightly, knowing my dad would hold his promise if he didn't cooperate.

"Just hurry up. It's cold here," he complained.

For once, I agreed with him. I wanted to hurry, not only because it was cold, but also the snow shower that surrounded Johann's boat was moving in our direction. I looked further west, but I only saw a grey wall beginning to obscure the far reaches of the ice sheet.

"All right. This section looks like it's the narrowest part of the ice sheet," I said motioning to my right. "I think a thirty-foot gap will be enough to stop the Speed Stingers from reaching Berk."

"Make it fifty," Astrid said. "Don't take any chances."

"That's it?" Snotlout asked. "Hookfang could make a hundred-foot gap! And not only that, I'll even bring Johann's stupid boat to Berk!"

"Show me," I dared. 

I didn't consider the implications of bringing Johann's boat to Berk until they crashed into my mind. An instant later, I tried to hide a grimace, knowing the dead dragon was still on Johann's boat. It didn't help to know I hadn't investigated it any further, so it was anybody's guess as to what other horrors might have still been inside or following it. After a couple seconds, I figured we'd be able to deal with any surprises in the boat if it was docked near the village.

Snotlout grinned, knowing he had an opportunity to flaunt Hookfang's prowess.

"Now watch as _this_ master shows how to create a channel," Snotlout announced, pointing at himself. He pushed his chest out and looked down at us over the bridge of his nose, making an exaggerated display of showing off.

Astrid rolled her eyes and groaned in disgust.

 He said something to Hookfang that I couldn't hear, and a second later he and his dragon were airborne. I watched as Hookfang canted to his right, U-turned and swept in low toward the ice sheet. At the last instant, he leveled out and shot a stream of lava that contacted the ice and hissed as it tore through and met the water. Hookfang U-turned again and swept in from the other side with another salvo.

Somehow, Snotlout was able to read my mind, because he didn't need any correcting on how to actually create a gap in the ice sheet.

After five passes, Snotlout and Hookfang landed on the other side of the newly-formed water channel.

"HOW'S THIS!?" Snotlout shouted to us.

Astrid laughed. I buried my face in my left hand before motioning Snotlout and Hookfang to come back to us. Hookfang jumped into the air and flew over to us, skidding to a halt on the Berk side of the channel.

"I think it's perfect," I said.

"Well, because I did such an _excellent_ job, I think I deserve a reward." He looked at Astrid flirtatiously.

"Boat," Astrid said flatly.

Snotlout groaned, but didn't renege on his deal. He was the one who defined the terms in the first place. He directed Hookfang to the side of Johann's boat and melted a channel from the boat to the edge of the ice sheet. Without landing, Hookfang grabbed onto one of the wooden structures at the bow with his feet and started pulling while flying forward. The boat slowly turned and picked up speed as it began to glide over the water's surface. As Snotlout passed us, he turned and winked obviously at Astrid.

Astrid rolled her eyes again.

We flew back to Berk silently, where Snotlout was already waiting in the plaza with a panting Hookfang.

"Now, time for that reward," he said, leaning slightly toward Astrid.

"Aaand on that note, I think it's too cold for me to stay out here," Astrid said, barely hiding her disgust. She and Stormfly walked past him without a second thought.

Snotlout's shoulders slumped a little as Toothless and I left.

I spotted Astrid and Stormfly near her house and guided Toothless to them. I let go of Toothless, and he wasted no time in romping toward Stormfly, looking for a playmate. I didn't stop our dragons, knowing they wouldn't wander too far away.

"That was easy," I observed, turning my attention from Toothless toward Astrid.

"Easy to get Snotlout to help or easy to stop whatever those dragons were?"

I made an exaggerated show of thinking for a second, then replied,"Both."

At that moment, Toothless and Stormfly were in the middle of some kind of chase game. Toothless bounded toward me with several short grunts and whipped to his right, showering Astrid and me in snow. Both of us put our arms up to block it, but the movement was totally useless. He continued bounding away from us as Stormfly chased him toward Astrid's house.

"Should we separate them?" Astrid asked. She sounded totally unconcerned that we had just been covered in snow, which was going to make the cold seem that much worse.

"Nah. Those two are a riot together," I said.

Toothless and Stormfly made a lap and were heading in our direction again. I stood rooted to my spot as Toothless bounded toward me with another grunt. He slowed just a little, then swiped his tongue quickly up my chest and face before continuing his little game with Stormfly.

Toothless had licked me enough that I wasn't too concerned about it anymore, although the air around me always smelled like fish for a while afterward. I smiled and watched the snow fly out from underneath the dragons' feet as they created their mischief around us. I used the sleeve of my coat to wipe Toothless' saliva off my face.

"They _are_ pretty crazy together," Astrid told me.

As the snowfall intensified, the air around us seemed to turn painfully cold, which was our signal to get indoors. I looked around, noticing Snotlout wasn't his usual persistent self. Normally, he would have spent a good ten minutes trying to get a kiss from Astrid before giving up. But this time, after Astrid rebuffed him, he simply brought Hookfang back to his house and didn't bother Astrid after that.

Toothless skidded to a halt near me, panting from his game of chase with Stormfly, who nudged Astrid in the shoulder. Both our dragons seemed to have used up most of their energy. I knew Toothless was going to sleep well tonight.

"Care to join us?" Astrid asked me as she turned toward her house.

"Yeah, I could do that," I replied.

I began shuffling carefully through the snow, grumbling about how I lost the plate I had made to that Speed Stinger earlier today. Toothless simply loped by my side, leading me into Astrid's house. I walked in, and Astrid closed the door behind her. Toothless lay down near the table about ten feet away from Stormfly.

Maybe ten seconds had passed when Toothless took a deep breath and exhaled, sounding exactly like the bellows I used in the forge. I listened intently to him breathing, his slow rhythm deeply relaxing. My shoulders dropped slightly, and the air inside the house even felt a little warmer.

We were safe, and Trader Johann was on the mend. It was all in a day's work for a Viking.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, uh, can I tell you something?" I asked.

"Sure," Astrid replied.

"I, uh, I killed a dragon today. It was the Speed Stinger." I paused for a beat, then hastily added, "Well, I told Toothless to shoot it with a fireball."

There was a brief silence between us as I watched Astrid for a reaction. She gave no hint that she was surprised about my confession.

"I'm sure there was a reason for it," Astrid finally said as she sat down at her table. I followed her lead. "You're not the kind of Viking who will just kill a dragon for no reason."

"I... I guess. Well, the dragon had already clawed into Johann's leg and wouldn't let me or Toothless near him."

"So you killed it to keep it from hurting anyone else. Or killing Johann," she inferred.

I nodded.

"All right, so what are you getting at?" she probed.

I paused for a moment, looking nowhere.

"I... don't know," I finally said. "Maybe it was because Toothless immediately did what I told him to do. He killed the Speed Stinger like it was nothing to him."

Astrid shrugged a little. "Toothless is still a dragon. There's no right or wrong to him, as long as he knows you're safe."

I sighed as I put my forehead into my left hand and grabbed onto my hair with my fingers.

"I just... I feel horrible that I broke a promise I made to myself when I first shot Toothless down. I found him in the forest, and the way he looked at me made me feel sorry for him. I promised I wouldn't kill a dragon after that."

"Nice try," she said with a wry grin. "You broke that promise a week later when you and Toothless killed the Red Death."

The Red Death. That gigantic monster of a dragon was the reason why we had dragon raids in the past. It was also the reason I was missing part of my left leg.

Strangely enough, I had no memory whatsoever of the battle against the Red Death. I only remembered watching Toothless chained to a boat, sailing toward the horizon with my dad's crew. I remembered feeling like the world was going to end that day. And that was where my memory stopped.

According to Gobber, I nearly drowned trying to help Toothless after the Red Death immolated our boats. My dad pulled me out of the coastal water and rescued Toothless. Immediately after I recovered, Toothless and I took off, using his fireballs to goad the Red Death into the clouds above.

Ten minutes later, after what was described as lightning with no thunder, Toothless and I rocketed toward the ground, and he shot a fireball into the Red Death's mouth, dislocating its jaw. The dragon's wings were torn to shreds, and it exploded once it crashed into the ground.

Both my dad and Gobber said they saw a brief glimpse of me lifelessly stalling in midair, Toothless desperately trying to reach me before the rolling flames did.

The first thing I remembered afterward was waking up inside my house, nearly unable to move due to soreness and the shock of missing my lower left leg. At that moment, I was grateful Toothless was there to help me stand because he knew exactly what I was going through.

"Yeah, but that was different," I said, trying to somehow exclude that horrendous encounter from my morals. "I _had_ to do something or Berk wouldn't exist today."

"And you _had_ to do something about the Speed Stinger, or Johann wouldn't be here now," she countered.

I sighed again, knowing my little argument had been deflated.

"Hiccup, just get over it," she said bluntly. "You did what you had to. There was no time to do anything else. You brought Johann back safely, and you're still Toothless' favorite person."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. But it was what I _needed_ to hear. I wasn't afraid of letting Astrid know my thoughts, and I thought I had gotten used to her simply telling me to get over myself. She had probably a thousand different ways to say it, but she somehow knew exactly what to say when I was in one of these moods.

Toothless broke the bubble I was trapped in with a long, slow sigh, trying to get some sleep. A plume of steam formed in front of him as he exhaled.

I stood from my seat and walked toward Astrid's door. I opened it slightly to find a white wall of snow pummeling Berk. The sky was almost completely dark from the clouds and short day.

"Would you mind if Toothless and I stayed here until the blizzard is gone?" I asked from in front of the door as I closed it.

"Stay as long as you need," she replied.

"Thanks," I said.

Based on the snowstorm, I figured we had crossed over from devastating winter into lethal winter sometime within the last few minutes. The fire in Astrid's hearth was doing an admirable job at keeping the cold from clawing its way indoors, but each time we spoke or breathed, a cloud of steam still exited our mouths.

I sat down on the floor next to Toothless, who was mostly asleep by now. He and Stormfly had worn themselves out playing in the snow today. I stroked his cheek gently. After a moment, he sighed in contentment. I smiled a little, mirroring his relaxation.

Astrid joined us and sat down next to Stormfly.

I continued doting on Toothless, letting him work his magic. As the seconds passed, the cold weather outside seemed to be getting more distant. The air around me felt a little warmer and a little brighter than when I had first entered Astrid's house a few minutes ago.

I really loved being near Toothless and Astrid.

Predictably, the moment was interrupted by a quiet knock on Astrid's door. A second later, it opened, bringing another brief chill inside.

Toothless and Stormfly simultaneously opened their eyes to check on what was entering the house. I turned toward the door to find my dad stepping in calmly. He shut the door behind himself and shuddered from the cold.

"Oh, uh... hi, Dad," I stammered.

"I'm glad you found shelter, son," he said. He didn't seem to be very upset about my supposed truancy.

"S-sorry. I didn't think to let you know," I said quietly.

"You're safe. That's all that matters right now." He quietly adjusted a chair near Astrid's table and sat down as he brushed a collection of snow out of his beard.

"Can you tell me what happened to Trader Johann?" he asked.

I knew I should have felt that crushing weight again, but my dad asked the question using a surprisingly gentle tone. Either that, or I felt like Toothless, Astrid, and Stormfly had my back for this.

"Is... is he gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Gobber thinks so. He's still breathing, anyway. His hands, ears, and nose have frostbite, but his leg's been cleaned and stitched. Gobber and I were wondering if you saw anything happen to him."

"Uh," I started. "I didn't see what caused him to become paralyzed. But I think it was the dragon, that... um... Speed Stinger," I said, barely remembering what Fishlegs had called it earlier.

"Johann has a puncture mark on the back of his left hand, and his left calf is clawed," he stated. "Which one happened first?"

"The puncture wound," I said quickly. "That was already there when I opened the trap door in his boat. Johann was curled on the floor when I first saw him."

"He wasn't moving?"

I shook my head. "I tried to ask if he was okay, and that was when the dragon jumped out of the shadows and gashed his leg."

"What happened to the dragon?" he asked. My dad's tone of voice implied he was asking why the dragon was dead or who had killed it.

"Uh," I said as my stomach lurched. I still hadn't gotten over playing an active role in killing a dragon. "We... killed it," I said quietly.

That same wave of anxiety from just a few moments ago washed over me. Admitting I was responsible for a dragon's death was just as nerve-wracking the second time as it was the first.

"Who's 'we?'"

"Me and Toothless," I nearly whispered, as if keeping my voice down would make killing that dragon seem less traumatic.

Astrid sighed audibly. "Hiccup, it'll be fine," she said. There was a hint of irritation under her voice.

"What is he worried about?" my dad asked, turning his attention to Astrid.

"Hiccup isn't comfortable admitting he killed a dragon," she stated bluntly. Before anyone could say anything, she added, "Even though it was probably the only way he and Toothless were gonna bring Johann to Berk."

My dad sat there in silence. The wind picked up outside, whistling as it blew through the village.

After a few seconds, my dad said, "I know you care about dragons, but sometimes there's nothing else you can do. You'll have to make tough decisions like this every so often."

The house was silent again, except for the fire crackling and our dragons breathing. Even with my dad's and Astrid's reassurances, I still felt like there was something else I should have done to keep from killing that Speed Stinger.

One of the logs in the fire popped suddenly, making all five of us jump a little. Toothless whuffed in irritation at the hearth. I stroked his cheek, trying to get him to calm down. I knew it wouldn't take long, and besides, I didn't want something random like this to ruin the feeling of peace we had in this house.

Just like normal, Toothless closed his eyes and sighed almost immediately as he leaned into my hand slightly. I didn't say a word because there really wasn't anything to say. I relaxed again, leaning against Toothless' side and stared at the hearth.

The log that popped a few seconds ago collapsed into two pieces and tumbled to the sides of the fire, sending embers spinning through the air. Toothless watched the small red dots with curious interest before they disappeared.

I smiled, knowing the peaceful feeling had returned.

"How did you get Johann to Berk?" my dad asked quietly.

"Very carefully," I responded with a hint of sarcasm. Before anyone could retort, I turned again to face my dad and continued, "I threw Johann across Toothless' back and made him fly slowly."

"What about the Speed Stinger?" Astrid asked.

"What about it?" I repeated, looking at her.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"Still on Johann's boat," I said. "The blizzard was already starting by the time Toothless and I got Johann off his boat. So we left it there."

"His boat is tied to the docks," my dad pointed out. "I saw it."

He paused, glancing at me. I had a slightly confused look on my face. My dad preempted my question and clarified himself.

"The dragon," he said. He paused again, although his eyes told me there were more words to come. After a brief silence, he added, "It's been buried."

"Do we have to clean the fish from Johann's boat?" I blurted out suddenly.

 _Hiccup, you're really good at recruiting yourself for stupid things,_ I thought sarcastically.

My dad fixed me with a curious look. "That was from the dragon, wasn't it?"

He never gave a direct answer to my question, so I hoped he'd forget about it for the time being.

"It had to be," I confirmed.

Without warning, Astrid interrupted us. "What if it was a scout, like Fishlegs thought? When the rest of its... pack, I guess, finds it, do you..."

I cut her off. "I don't want to think about that right now."

She was silent after that; the only sounds in the house were the fire crackling and our dragons breathing steadily. I relaxed as I took root against Toothless' side. For just a few minutes, I didn't want to have a worry in the world.

Toothless' head shot up suddenly, preventing my wish from being granted. He growled at the wall about twenty feet away from us. The mood in the house quickly changed from relaxed and peaceful to cold and tense.

A pair of footsteps stomped onto the stoop just before someone pounded on her door. Not a second later, the door flew open, revealing a snow-dusted Gobber with a panicked expression on his face. Toothless leapt to his feet just as I caught myself from colliding with the floor.

"Stoick! There's something happening on the ice sheet!"

"Are there a bunch of dragons standing on the other side of the rift we made today?" I asked without thinking.

"How did you guess!?" Gobber half-shouted sarcastically.

Astrid and I exchanged glances. I mimed a sigh of relief and stood after a few seconds.

"Can Toothless and I join?" I asked.

My dad nodded and motioned with his hand, not looking back at us. Stormfly warbled softly, indicating she and Astrid were coming as well.


	6. Chapter 6

We followed Gobber into the cold. The snow and drab sky made the air in front of us appear dark grey, approaching black. The wind was fierce enough to make my eyes, ears, and nose burn as we made our way to the yak pasture.

We stopped at a cliff overlooking the ice sheet that extended beyond Trader Johann's boat.

"There!" Gobber shouted through the wind. He pointed at the gap Snotlout and Hookfang had created earlier in the day. Just barely visible on the other side was a large herd of what looked to be Speed Stingers.

Toothless growled from behind me.

For some reason, I felt that announcing our presence here would have been worse than staying quiet. I turned and brushed the top of Toothless' snout with my right hand in an attempt to distract him. His eyes focused on me, and his growling subsided.

"Well, looks like Snotlout pulled his weight for once," Astrid observed mockingly.

Through the wind and falling snow, a series of loud, short grunts met my ears.

Toothless broke our little staring contest and immediately roared back, nearly deafening me. I staggered out of his line of fire, trying to get my ears to stop ringing.

 _Why won't he warn me about that?_ I thought.

"I think Toothless said something they didn't like!" Gobber shouted. He sounded like he was a mile away.

"They turned around!" Astrid added.

I was still in shock from Toothless bellowing at those dragons, but a little discomfort was probably better than the alternative we were facing.

I finally looked at the ice sheet and found the gap without too much trouble. The other side of it was empty without a single Speed Stinger in sight.

That same nagging feeling tugged at my gut though. Something didn't feel right about those dragons.

I checked around the gap, looking for any way that the Speed Stingers could reach Berk, such as an ice floe. In the low light, I didn't see any sheets making their way toward the gap, but that didn't mean they weren't there. After a few seconds, I gave up trying to locate anything that looked suspicious.

I wondered about telling my dad that I felt uneasy about the Speed Stingers. That little hint of apprehension was just persistent enough to hold my attention. He'd probably brush off my concern though, much like the snow that often piled on his shoulders during this time of year. With that conclusion, I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and turned toward home.

I could have sworn the time wasn't this late. The air around us was beginning to turn suffocatingly dark, almost completely hiding my view of the houses across the yak pasture. Even the firelights dotting the village nearly seemed to be suspended in midair.

"C'mon, buddy," I said to Toothless. I hopped on his back without clicking my peg into the stirrup. He'd have a much easier time navigating through the snow drifts than I would. "Let's go home."

As he began plodding through the snow, I looked back at Astrid and gave her a nonverbal signal, telling her she was welcome to join me. She shrugged and began guiding Stormfly in our direction.

I dismounted as Toothless reached our house and walked with him toward the door. I opened it to find my dad's dragon, Thornado, resting near the hearth. He glanced at Toothless and me for a second as we walked in, then returned to his original position.

Thornado was a Thunderdrum with a blue back and much lighter belly. He was about the size of Toothless, except with a gaping maw and much less maneuverability in the air. Just like any Thunderdrum, he was a dragon who shot concussive sound blasts from his mouth instead of fire. His roar was powerful enough to burst blood vessels if someone stood close enough in his line of fire.

A soft warble came from just behind me and Toothless. Astrid led Stormfly inside with my dad just behind them. Stormfly navigated toward the hearth and plopped down about ten feet away from Thornado.

I turned toward the table, ready to sit down. Before I could move, a sudden presence made itself known on my left side. Not a second later, Astrid planted a kiss on my cheek.

"You're too kind," she said with a smile. She held my gaze for a beat and then turned toward Stormfly as if nothing happened. After a brief second of acting like she was occupied with her dragon, she sat down at our table.

Like always, I stood there in mild shock for a few seconds. Toothless grunted from my right, catching my attention. He glanced at Astrid and then back to me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked him.

He grunted again, teasing me. I rolled my eyes as I walked to our table and sat down across from Astrid. Toothless slowly followed and lay down between me and Thornado.

I waited silently, not looking at anything in particular.

"What are you thinking about?" Astrid finally asked.

I held up my left index finger to stop her. About five seconds later, Toothless pulled in a deep breath and sighed, a cloud of steam coming out of his snout.

"That," I answered, motioning toward Toothless.

Astrid smiled in realization. "So Toothless has his routine at mealtimes, and you have your routine when he's tired."

"Yeah, I'd say you're correct."

The house was silent after that, except for the fire crackling, our dragons breathing, and the wind blowing outside.

As the atmosphere wrapped itself around us, that nagging thought about the Speed Stingers shoved its way back into my mind.

"D'you think those Speed Stingers will try to come back?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.

Astrid shrugged. "I don't know. Seems like Toothless did a great job scaring them off."

I rubbed my left palm into my forehead and shut my eyes. For anyone who knew me, this was always a sign that I felt uneasy.

"I just... I really don't feel right about this," I confessed. "Something tells me those dragons aren't going to simply leave us alone."

"All right, then," Astrid said. "Let's play your little game. What do we do?"

I tried to stifle a laugh, turning it into a fake cough that was way too obvious.

"Astrid, you _do_ realize you're considering my opinion, right?" I pointed out.

"Yeah. So?"

"Don't you think that's a little odd, listening to what I have to say? Really, shouldn't you be ignoring me?"

"I don't think so. Look at how many times you've been right about something just by thinking ahead."

"I don't know," I mumbled. "I really just feel like I'm rambling with no purpose."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Hiccup." She paused for a moment, then shifted positions slightly, as if she had gotten an idea. "Okay, so what if the Speed Stingers don't come back, but we're ready for them? What happens?"

"Nothing," I said after a little bit of thought.

"Exactly. Nothing. We continue with our lives, and that's it. So what should we do _just in case?"_

I sighed. "I really think Fishlegs could help us," I said, still trying to dodge Astrid's probing.

"He's not here," she said flatly. "What would _you_ suggest?"

I gave up countering Astrid's persistence and thought for a moment. I only knew a little bit about these dragons: they couldn't fly, they were aggressive and probably territorial, and they traveled in a pack.

"Well," I started. "They move in a pack, so they probably have a leader. The dragon I saw earlier today seemed territorial when I moved toward Johann."

"All right," Astrid said, cutting me off. "We have a pack of dragons on the move, they're territorial, and they were probably out in the cold for a while today."

I blinked, realizing I had missed an obvious detail. Those dragons were willing to brave the cold for however long today, like they were trying to go somewhere.

"If they were without shelter for that long, they must have been looking for something," I said, adding Astrid's observation to my own. "Probably looking for a source of food..."

Dragons, just like any other animal, needed a food source. And if the Speed Stingers were territorial, that meant they'd guard any food source they found. My eyes brightened in realization, although I knew what I had inferred wasn't a good thing.

"So what did you come up with?" Astrid asked me.

"The Speed Stingers are on the move, looking for a new food source. And Toothless kinda let them know we had one here."

"How so?"

"Toothless roared back at them, like he was guarding his territory. So if they get rid of us, they have a new place to stay, at least until our food runs out."

Astrid sat there in silence, looking at me. A wry grin slowly worked its way across her face.

"You know, the further you get into this, the worse it sounds for us," she observed.

I threw my hands into the air in defeat. My left hand slapped against the table as it came back down. "You asked. And I have no idea if I'm even right about this."

"Let's suppose you are. How do we keep the Speed Stingers away from our food?"

I shrugged. "I guess... lock it in a place they can't reach. Don't give them a reason to live here."

"Don't you think we've already done that? We're Vikings in the middle of winter. It's not like we've got a massive surplus of food right now."

I nodded slowly, agreeing with her conclusion.

My dad walked toward us, the sound of his footsteps surprising me. I knew he came in after Astrid and Stormfly, but this conversation had me completely preoccupied.

"So you think we should check our food stores?" he asked.

I shrugged again. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"He means 'yes,'" Astrid said to him.

My dad nodded and said, "I think that's a good plan." He paused. A sudden gust had just picked up, howling through Berk.

My dad walked toward the door and opened it slightly. From what I could tell, the sky was completely dark, and there was no visibility past about ten feet. He shut the door and turned back to us.

"Looks like we'll be staying here for the night," he continued. "We'll make sure everything is locked tomorrow. Hiccup and Astrid, I'll need your help to make sure people don't spend a long time outdoors tomorrow. It'll be our job to keep everyone safe, whether it's from dragons or cold."

We didn't have much choice. The snowstorm had passed blizzard status and gone into whiteout. Walking outside in those conditions would have been disastrous, not only because we would have had no idea where we were going, but also because of the sheer cold.

For a brief moment, I wondered if there needed to be a fifth season that was more extreme than lethal winter.

I stood up, groaning from the effort. My joints felt like they were starting to freeze. I grabbed three logs we had stowed near the hearth and placed them in the fire. They sizzled audibly as the flames ate through the frost that had built up on them.

After making sure the fire wouldn't extinguish itself, I tromped upstairs and grabbed the blanket and pillow off my bed. I was about to head downstairs when I realized I was only thinking about myself. I grabbed a spare pillow and blanket as well, brought them downstairs, and gave the spares to Astrid.

"Thanks, Hiccup. You really _are_ too kind," she whispered. I smiled sheepishly without saying anything.

I set my own pillow and blanket up so that I was propped against Toothless' side, using him as a cushion. I quickly drifted into sleep, feeling his gentle breathing and heartbeat.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was supposed to be okay. Toothless had apparently scared all the Speed Stingers away from Berk. But the sleep I was getting was fitful at best. I kept startling awake seemingly every five minutes, thinking I had heard a high-pitched skreel or a loud grunt.

The fire at the hearth was mostly embers. I shivered, pulling away from Toothless' side. He grunted quietly, awake just like I was. And he looked concerned. Not about the Speed Stingers. Not about the cold. He was concerned about me. Toothless never let his eyes drift anywhere else.

"H-hey, buddy," I whispered.

I haltingly put my right hand on the side of his neck. My hand was trembling too much to simply be cold. Toothless murmured gently, rubbing the right side of his snout against my shoulder. I took a deep breath and exhaled, watching the cloud of steam coming from my mouth dissipate.

I got to a crawling position, grabbed three logs, and placed them on the sides of the fire. They had too much ice on them to burn for now. Placing them in the middle of the embers surely meant the fire would extinguish itself.

But then the problem resolved itself. A dragon named Toothless was nearby.

I reached for the poking rod, but when I touched it, my hand jerked back slightly because it was so cold. After steeling myself with a couple deep breaths, I grabbed the rod and grimaced as my hand seemingly froze in place around the rod. I moved the logs toward the center of the hearth where they hissed slightly from the fire eating through the ice layer. Predictably, the orange color slowly disappeared.

"Toothless," I whispered, crouching near the hearth.

He looked at me attentively. I pointed at the fresh logs, trying to get him to notice the fire was gone. We had been through this little inconvenience several times this winter, so I was pretty sure Toothless knew what to do.

He groaned as he shuffled over to the hearth. He pulled in a short breath and opened his mouth slightly. Just as I removed my hand, a white stream of fire came out of his mouth. He held it there for about three seconds and then stopped.

The fire resumed burning as if it had never gone out. Toothless looked at me, seemingly asking if he did a good job. I smiled at him. He grunted in satisfaction and then returned to his spot.

I returned the poking rod to its perch near the hearth and flexed my left hand several times, trying to warm it back up.

One of the logs split with a miniature explosion, making Stormfly jump slightly. Astrid stirred and blearily opened her eyes to find me near the hearth.

"Wh-whzat?" she asked with a start. She blinked several times, looking around herself in a brief panic.

"Fire was almost gone," I whispered.

I sat back with a sigh, watching as the diffuse light pattern danced its way around the floor. I couldn't keep from quavering as I exhaled.

"You're still worried, aren't you?" Astrid said with a yawn.

There was no point in lying, mainly because I was way too transparent with my feelings to successfully lie about things like that. So I nodded slowly.

"This was probably the fifth time I woke up thinking about the Speed Stingers."

"Hiccup, they're gone. We're gonna check our food supply at dawn's first light. They won't be able to get to it if they really do find a way into Berk. Okay?"

I pulled in another quavering breath, but nodded without looking at Astrid. Shivering, I silently pulled the blanket over myself and propped against Toothless' side again. Astrid sighed quietly as she curled tightly against Stormfly and fell asleep.

I tried to relax but couldn't. Toothless murmured softly as he wrapped himself a little more around me and looked directly into my eyes.

I took a deep breath, trying to pay attention to his advice, and felt a little better.

"Thanks, buddy," I said to him as I stroked his cheek gently. He whuffed slightly in approval.

I continued running my hand along Toothless' cheek and neck. He stayed in his position, letting me work out all my anxiety. It didn't take long for sleep to find us again.


	8. Chapter 8

I was first to stir. Just like the middle of last night, the fire at the hearth was glowing orange embers instead of flames. I glanced around in the chill, noticing Stormfly and Astrid huddling together for warmth. Thornado was near my dad's bed underneath a couple large sheets of leather. My dad was snoring away next to Thornado.

Toothless yawned with a groan and stood as I left his side. He stretched and looked at me, ready for today.

"G'morning, bud," I whispered.

Apart from the occupants of the house breathing, a quiet white noise filtered its way in through the walls. I remembered now, just as I did every year, that winter had a different "sound" to it. For some reason, that background noise was a little more prevalent, and distinct noises were easier to discern.

After a few seconds of listening to the winter, I grabbed my trousers and coat and donned them. I shuffled past Toothless, toward our front door.

I stopped moving with my left hand about six inches from the door. Something didn't feel right. It almost felt like there was an invisible wall between my hand and the door, preventing me from reaching it.

I closed my eyes and listened, leaning slightly forward. I heard the dragons and Vikings in the house breathing, but there had been another sound I couldn't place.

After about ten seconds, that sound reached my ears again – a high-pitched, short grunt coming from somewhere outside the house. It was followed by another. Three. Four. Five. All of them came within seconds of each other.

Toothless rumbled quietly, waking Stormfly. Astrid groaned and yawned as her source of warmth left her.

I stared at the wall in front of me in shock. Those were Speed Stingers I had just heard.

From behind me, Astrid mumbled, "Hiccup, why is Toothless–"

I held a hand up to stop her. She fell silent. I listened a second time, hoping what I had heard wasn't real.

Those grunts filtered through the walls again, this time from much closer.

I turned and faced Astrid, who had just lost every bit of color from her face. Her expression told me exactly what she was thinking.

Toothless turned to the front door and began growling. This time, it was loud enough for Thornado and my dad to wake up simultaneously. Thornado lumbered over to the front door and fixed his gaze on it, rumbling.

"What in Thor's name is going on!?" my dad groaned as he stood from his bed.

We got rid of the ice. We made a rift so this wouldn't happen.

_We stopped the dragons yesterday_.

Somehow, the Speed Stingers still managed to find their way into Berk.

The grunts from outside became more frequent. I even heard them over the three dragons we had in this house. There was also an occasional click, which presumably came from the Speed Stingers as well.

I definitely didn't feel good about having a bunch of dragons wandering around Berk, or more accurately, a bunch of strange and aggressive dragons. What made it even worse was that we had no food or water in this house after consuming what we had left yesterday. None of us had even thought about it after Toothless roared at the herd of Speed Stingers. At some point today, someone would have to wander outside and get something to eat and drink.

Before we could launch into an argument about it, I volunteered.

"Uh, Dad? Astrid? I'm gonna take Toothless to get some food and water."

Both Astrid and my dad turned to me, their eyes wide.

"No, you're not," my dad said. "You're staying here. There's no telling what can happen to you and Toothless out there."

I shrugged. "The Speed Stingers can't fly. I can make trips from here to the great hall in the air."

Astrid groaned in frustration. The stubbornness I had as a Viking was showing itself.

"All right, Hiccup. You make the first trip," she told me. "I've got the next one."

"Astrid, it's not making me feel any better to know _both_ of you are risking your lives out there," my dad replied.

"What are we supposed to do?" I asked him. "Just sit here and hope those dragons will magically go away?"

"They will eventually," he replied.

"Yeah," I said, trying to cover a short laugh. "When we're out of food. Speaking of which, why not just let those dragons eat the _hákarl_ we have strung up? I'm sure it'll make that area smell much better. Or maybe they'll die from food poisoning, and we won't have to worry anymore."

_Hákarl_ was easily my least favorite food. It was shark meat, pressed and essentially rotted that we strung up in its own structure because of its pungent and nauseating smell. Once it acquired a smell that made people gag, it was ready to eat. Naturally. I couldn't believe how many people actually liked that stuff.

"Our stores should be locked," my dad said, avoiding my disdain about the _hákarl_. "The only way a dragon could get into them is if it could breathe fire."

"Um," Astrid started, eyeing me. " _Can_ they?"

"I... I don't know," I stuttered.

After a few seconds, I faced the front door again, signaling I was going outside whether Astrid and my dad liked it or not.

"Be careful, Hiccup."

I nodded and looked at Toothless.

"Ready, bud?" I asked him.

I listened for a beat, making sure there weren't any Speed Stingers nearby and pulled the door open a notch. I peeked through the sliver, but only a foot of snow on the ground greeted my eyes. I slowly opened the door wider to let Toothless out.

Toothless bounded out, took about four hops, then turned around to look at me.

Astrid giggled from behind me. "He must really like snow," she said.

"Yeah, he does."

I turned back to Astrid and said, "I'll come back. Promise."

I stepped through the door and closed it behind me just as my peg sank all the way to the ice layer at the bottom of the snow drift. A frustrated groan escaped my throat as Toothless jumped around.

Before he could get too far into his little game, I called out to him, "C'mon, Toothless. Let's go flying."

An excited grunt came from my left as Toothless crashed through a snow drift, sending a shower of white in every direction. He stopped a few feet short of me with an eager look on his face. I dragged myself over to him and climbed onto his back with some trouble. I hooked into the stirrup with my peg, and as usual, Toothless took off without warning.

I simply followed along for this flight. We had different reasons for being up here today, which was a rarity. Toothless was up in the air for the fun of it, like normal. I, on the other hand, was up here because I wanted to scope out the island. Maybe I could get an idea of what the Speed Stingers were doing and what they were after if I could see most of the island at once.

It was difficult to truly determine what was happening throughout the island because of the cold and wind. After a few minutes of flying, the water collecting in my eyes blurred the lower half of my sight field.

Toothless banked left as I blinked several times, heading toward the western yak pasture and ice bridge. We were flying over the rugged coastline, around the armory and forge. Just before our view of the plaza was obscured by the armory, a green flash darted across the plaza. I sighed in irritation, knowing what I had heard from inside the house this morning was real.

I rubbed my eyes with my coat sleeve, trying to keep my tears away long enough to see any other Speed Stingers in Berk.

Toothless passed the armory and began heading for the great hall. Just before he started his descent, I nudged him slightly with my right knee.

Immediately, Toothless relaxed his wings and let me lead him. We rose back into the air just as we passed the great hall. Both the front and rear doors were closed. And nearby was the silo we used to store our cache of food for the winters. Those doors were also shut. And not quite far enough away from the great hall and silo was our storage structure for  _hákarl_. Had our situation not been so dire, I would have laughed had the Speed Stingers actively avoided that area.

The silo led to an underground storage area full of everything we ate, including chicken, fish, vegetables, berries, breads... basically anything except _hákarl_. We made sure to refresh the food every few days, which necessitated us to take turns on cooking and cleaning duty at the great hall.

I glanced around town and noticed there was nobody wandering around the village. The sun was mostly in view, which told me people should have been going about their daily business by now.

I guided Toothless in a tight circle and had him land at the front doors of the great hall. I was eager for this flight to end so I could spend enough time to clear my vision.

As soon as he touched down, a shrill roar echoed from my left through the village, followed by several loud clicks. I reflexively glanced in that direction and saw two green dragons barreling toward us.

"Toothless, UP!" I shouted, yanking upward on his saddle.

He grunted as he jumped into the air and hovered about fifteen feet above the ground. The Speed Stingers stopped where Toothless was just a couple of seconds ago and looked up at us. One of them gave four short grunts in quick succession. It wasn't long before three more Speed Stingers joined them. All of them were glaring at us, like they were ready to attack if we got within their range. They simply stood there, guarding the front door of the great hall without really doing anything else, except for an occasional grunt or cackle. After a few seconds, I realized these dragons weren't going to disperse until Toothless and I were out of their sight.

I directed Toothless to his right, so that we were flying between our storage silo and the great hall. Unsurprisingly, the Speed Stingers followed us. I led Toothless beyond the great hall and out toward the yak pasture. But the dragons stopped just short of entering the pasture.

_They know where our food stores are,_ I thought.

I turned Toothless around and approached the silo. A high-pitched roar met my ears. Toothless growled as we headed toward the silo just as three Speed Stingers showed themselves again. We flew past the silo and toward the armory, the dragons following us on foot. They stopped about ten feet short of the armory.

I had Toothless hover for a few seconds over the rocky coastline behind the forge, which was essentially a second structure attached to the armory. I glanced around and saw no Speed Stingers, so I directed Toothless to land at the back entrance. Once on the ground, I quickly dismounted and pushed the door open.

"C'mon, Toothless," I said. He grunted as he trotted into the forge. I closed the door behind us and noticed two candles were lit.

"Gobber?" I asked the air in front of me, a diffuse cloud of steam escaping my mouth.

After a few seconds, there was no response, so Gobber had probably been here recently and was coming back soon. I shrugged and entered my study. It was completely normal with all the plans and designs I had come up with over the years strewn about like a whirlwind had blown through here. Near my desk was a small stack of snow plates I had made earlier this winter. I grabbed one and nearly dropped it, my hand burning from the cold iron. I quickly attached it to my peg.

I left my study in disarray like it was supposed to be. It was a deterrent for anyone who wanted to snoop around in there. 

One of my sarcastically recurring "nightmares" was for someone to sneak into my study and organize it.

Next to the entrance of my study, I grabbed two hooks I had made in my spare time a few months ago. At the Academy, we were trying to figure out how to get food to an injured dragon or rider, and this seemed to be the best solution. The hooks were designed to latch onto the handles of Toothless' saddle, so he could feasibly carry two baskets on either side.

Predictably, Toothless had seemed more interested in eating what was in those baskets rather than moving them around. I smiled a little because I knew if I could get into the great hall, I'd run into that exact problem.

"Let's go, bud," I said quietly to Toothless.

After blowing out the candles, I led him out of the forge through the back exit and climbed on his back with less effort than the first time this morning. I stowed the plate in my satchel, hooked in with my peg, and we took off. I nudged Toothless gently with my right knee, directing him on a beeline toward the great hall. The plan was to get to the entrance before the Speed Stingers would have time to respond.

As the great hall grew in size, I saw several Speed Stingers standing guard near the double doors leading to the front entrance. The entrance in the rear was void of any dragons, so that became our target.

"Right there, Toothless," I said to him, pointing out the back entrance.

We pulled into a shallow dive. At the last instant, I rolled toe-up and Toothless came to a soft landing about five feet away from the door.

Two of the Speed Stingers shrieked as we landed. At least four of them rounded the corner as I pulled the door open.

"TOOTHLESS! INSIDE!" I shouted to him.

He leapt inside before I could give him a chance to react to the dragons plowing toward us. I dove in after him, slamming the door shut behind myself. The great hall echoed with a loud _thud_ from the door. From outside, I heard several screeches, clicks, and grunts, which caused Toothless to growl at the door behind us.

Inside the great hall, there were lit candles dotting the open area here and there. To my right was a moderately large pile of fish. Just like the armory and forge, the great hall was empty. Every time I took a step or Toothless exhaled, it echoed around the great hall for a few seconds. To me, it felt like most of Berk had suddenly disappeared overnight.

"No, Toothless," I said quietly, my voice reverberating.

He was edging toward the pile of fish, looking for something to eat. I strode between him and his meal. He dutifully sat on his haunches, looking at me expectantly. I grabbed two baskets, filled them with fish and hooked them onto Toothless' saddle.

Nearby was a basin of water we used for drinking. I dipped two small wooden buckets into the water, placed fitted lids on top, and hooked the buckets onto Toothless' saddle as well.

Toothless intensified his gaze at me, trying to guilt-trip me about not feeding him when there was a large pile of fish at most ten feet from him.

"When we get home," I told him.

I led him using his saddle toward the front entrance of the great hall, hoping we could dupe the Speed Stingers for at least a few seconds. I knew we had to be quick about this for two reasons. First, Toothless would never let me hear the end of this if I didn't give him breakfast soon. Second, the Speed Stingers would be able to smell the fish from a mile away. No doubt they'd give chase.

I pulled one of the doors open slowly and peeked through the slit of light filtering into the great hall. I listened for a beat, then threw the door open and guided Toothless out. I quickly shut the door behind me with a loud click and climbed onto Toothless' saddle.

Several alarmed grunts came from behind us, and I looked back to find those same Speed Stingers sprinting in our direction again.

I leaned forward in the saddle as I hooked my peg in and nudged Toothless with my right knee.

"Home, bud," I told him. He grunted and powered forward with his wings.

Just like when we entered the great hall, I had Toothless pull into a shallow dive. He stopped about five feet short of the front door to our house. I jumped off his back and wrenched the door open. Toothless bounded inside. I dove in after him and slammed the door shut. Several grunts and clicks came from outside, followed by heavy scratching noises.

Stormfly cackled at the wall, but the sounds outside didn't stop. Thornado glowered at the same wall as if he and Stormfly could see the Speed Stingers through it.

"They followed you here?" my dad asked.

I looked at him and nodded slowly as I pulled the baskets and water buckets off Toothless' saddle.

"They're guarding the silo and great hall," I stated.

"Why?" he asked.

"They know where our food is kept. It's like a beacon to them."

"And now they know some of it is in this house," Astrid added with a hint of irritation.

"What was I supposed to do?" I shouted.

"You could have come back without any fish and told us we needed to go to the great hall," my dad said.

"Toothless and I were just barely fast enough to avoid those dragons. I don't even know if any other dragon could do this."

"Sure we could," Astrid said. "You, me, and your dad. Together."

"That leaves one of us stranded," I told her. "One of us gets locked outside and becomes the target of their attention. Or the dragons will just get smart and guard both entrances to the great hall."

Toothless interrupted our argument with a low moan. He was staring at one of the baskets in front of him, wondering when he was going to eat.

I groaned in frustration because I felt like I had doomed myself, my dad, and Astrid to our fates by advertising the fact that we had a food source just barely out of the Speed Stingers' reach.

I opened the basket and tipped it over, spilling about half of it on the floor for Toothless. I grabbed a fish off the top of his pile and gave the basket to Astrid, barely looking at her.

Astrid went through the same production with Stormfly and joined me at the hearth, where I had already skewered my fish and was cooking it in the fire. My dad fed Thornado and joined both of us soon after.

After our meals were cooked, we ate in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

The grunting and clicking outside our house didn't stop. Sure, the dragons slowly lost _some_ of their interest, but they never truly gave up.

I didn't look anywhere except at the table in front of me. I couldn't hold Astrid's or my dad's stares right now, especially when the tension around us was so high. I thought I had done the right thing by bringing us food and water, and all it achieved was a pack of Speed Stingers surrounding the house, demanding we give all our food to them. They now had the incentive to find a way inside.

Toothless sat on his haunches next to me and grunted, asking for attention. I glanced at him briefly, then looked back at the table. After a few seconds, he grunted again, this time more urgently, brushing his snout into my left arm.

"How can he be so oblivious to what's happening outside?" Astrid asked sullenly.

I didn't acknowledge her.

Stormfly and Thornado had their attention fixed on the front door, just in case the Speed Stingers found a way inside. I thought Toothless would have done the same thing, but he apparently had a different way of showing his protective side.

"Hiccup," my dad whispered.

I ignored him, unable to face what I had inadvertently done to us. I just wanted to somehow disappear and not have to worry about the Speed Stingers anymore.

" _Hiccup_ ," he said, this time with more emphasis.

I took a deep breath and looked at him, moving slowly.

"Why aren't you thinking ahead, son?" he asked.

"Because I've killed everyone in this house," I said in bitter sarcasm.

"Here we go..." Astrid mumbled under her breath.

"Go ahead! Tell the entire world how I failed at trying to be helpful!" I shouted. "Isn't that _kinda_ like every other time I've tried to make someone's life easier? Isn't that why everyone shoves me into a corner when something's happening!?"

"Hiccup, if you're going to whine about something like that, do it outside!" Astrid shouted back. Stormfly hissed at her, startled by her tone of voice. She ignored her dragon. " _Please_ , just start thinking of a way to get food and water."

"Why?" I shot back. "It'll just–"

"ENOUGH!" my dad shouted. He jumped out of his chair, sending it toppling to the ground. Toothless roared at him loudly enough to make Astrid and me wince. My dad didn't budge.

"I'm tired of listening to you complain about problems that you don't even have! Start showing you actually care about someone besides yourself!" he yelled.

I glared at Astrid and my dad for a second, then shoved my chair backwards. Toothless jumped away slightly to avoid being smacked by the backrest, but I didn't care. I stormed upstairs and sat down on my bed, knees curled into my chest, squeezing my eyes shut in frustration.

I hated being in a mood like this. Absolutely hated it.

They always appear suddenly and you can't stop digging your own grave. No matter how hard you try to stop, it always gets worse. And there's nothing anyone, Viking or dragon, can do to help you get over it. As deep as you dug that hole, you have to find a way to get yourself out of it.

Downstairs, Astrid groaned in frustration. "Go bother Hiccup. He's _your_ human."

I stayed put, not caring about what was happening downstairs.

"Toothless, stop!" Astrid shouted at him. Toothless was grunting like he needed something.

A few seconds later, Astrid stomped upstairs and said, "I don't care what you think of me, but your dragon needs you."

I rolled my eyes and slowly got off my bed, not feeling any better than I did when I had stormed up here.

"Move," I mumbled, brushing past her.

I slowly trudged downstairs and found Toothless with a worried look on his face. He grunted again at me.

"Great. You've gotta go outside," I observed. It couldn't have happened at a more inconvenient time. Toothless had to relieve himself, and luckily, he was housebroken.

I put my hands on my hips and sighed without trying to hide it. I closed my eyes for a brief second and tried to look anywhere except Astrid, Toothless, or my dad. _Especially_ my dad, because he was the one I needed for what I had in mind.

I knew the doors were suicide with Speed Stingers around us. The only other exit from this house was the skylight, which was covered in snow. It was too heavy for me to lift, which just so conveniently left only one person in this household able to open it.

"I'm... gonna..." I choked out before pausing. I looked my dad in the eyes, regardless of how scared I was or how much it hurt.

"Can... canyoupensklight?" I mumbled.

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brows. He glared at me, giving me one more chance to actually make sense to him without blowing up again.

I took a deep breath and repeated, "Can     you     open     the     skylight?" I concentrated on each letter, making sure to enunciate every sound clearly.

He sighed audibly then commanded, "Astrid, downstairs."

Without hesitation, she walked back toward us.

"Sit down and stay here, young lady," he instructed.

She nodded as she pulled up a chair and leaned on the table.

My dad plodded halfway up the stairs then looked at me and said, "Come on, son."

Begrudgingly, I followed him back up to the second floor of our house. By the time I finished climbing the stairs, my dad was already near the sealed hole in the roof. He was standing at his full height, which made me feel even more insignificant than I already was.

"Get Toothless up here," he told me.

Slowly, I made my way over to the edge of the floor and looked at Toothless.

"C'mon, Toothless," I told him without feeling. He trotted up the stairs with the same intensely worried look on his face as a few moments ago.

Before I could react, my dad pulled me into a loose hug and whispered just loudly enough for me to hear, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

I took a deep breath and said, "Yeah. Me too."

"I'll open the skylight for you and Toothless. When you two come back, can you have an idea of how to get food and water around the village?"

I nodded slowly without looking at him and mumbled, "Yeah. I'll figure something out." 

My dad pulled away from me and stood on my bed. He unhooked the latch holding the skylight cover shut and shoved upward. The cover opened about halfway, so he shoved again. The crunch of fresh snow compressing met my ears. Several large chunks dropped into the house. But the cover stayed open. My dad nodded at me and plodded back downstairs.

I grabbed a knife and stowed it in my belt.

"Ready, bud?" I asked flatly.

I felt like I was violating our friendship because every time I called Toothless "bud," I meant it. But this time, there was no connection behind that word.

I climbed onto Toothless's back, hooked in with my peg and hunkered down in the saddle to avoid my head striking the wooden frame surrounding the skylight. Toothless jumped up, finding purchase on the roof and climbing out of the house.

"Hold, Toothless," I told him as I unhooked from the stirrup. I dismounted from his back and closed the skylight.

A light flurry was drifting down from the pale grey clouds above us, but I knew it could become a raging blizzard without warning.

I gave a quiet groan as I got on Toothless's back again. I hooked in with my peg and said, "All right, Toothless. Let's go flying."

Toothless jumped from the roof and soared to a point at the edge of the forest on the eastern side of the village. He paused, waiting for me to get off his back so I could stand guard. I slid down into the snow, reached into the satchel at my waist and pulled out the plate I had stored there this morning. As Toothless trotted a few paces into the forest, I attached the plate to the bottom of my peg.

In the distance to the west was the great hall. It was too far away to pick out any Speed Stingers over there, but I knew they were gathered in that area. Around the other houses in the village, I counted twenty-one green dragons. Six of them were on the south side of our house. Each dragon seemed to be doing the exact same thing – waiting. They were waiting for the perfect time to attack so they could access whatever food was being hidden from them.

I saw two of the houses in the village with their doors wide open. The one closest to me had what looked like a small snow drift beginning to intrude.

I watched as one person quietly closed a door behind himself and immediately began running toward an unknown destination in the village. He quickly became obscured by a different house just as a loud shriek met my ears from that area. A Speed Stinger tore across the plaza in his direction, but I had no idea whether the Viking had gotten to safety.

I glanced back at Toothless to see what he was doing. He had finished and was cautiously loping in my direction. I could tell by his expression he was concerned about my state of mind, which didn't make me feel any better for losing my temper earlier.

_Why do I have to be so dumb?_ I wondered.

The Speed Stingers were in the village, and from the looks of the two open houses, they had already been successful in locating some food. But there was almost nothing else I could have done yesterday to prevent their arrival.

More importantly at this moment though, Toothless was eyeing me warily, trying to make sure I wasn't going to blow up again.

I looked Toothless in the eyes and told him, "Toothless, I'm sorry."

He stayed in his spot, not moving as I slowly took a step toward him. But he kept his eyes on me. I slowly reached out my right hand toward him, hoping he'd accept my apology. I had scared him with my temper, and I had to earn his trust back.

I stayed where I was and held my hand out for him to approach. Slowly, he moved his weight to his front legs with a soft groan and fixed his eyes on my hand. As he got closer, I felt his breath warming my hand slightly. After about five seconds, Toothless brushed his snout against my fingers.

"That's it," I whispered.

I slowly closed the rest of the distance between us and hugged Toothless gently around his neck and chest.

"It's okay, bud. I won't do that to you again. I promise," I told him.

Slowly, that warm feeling of being around Toothless returned. He felt like my best friend again. And I felt like he was going to protect me.

Toothless moaned softly after a few seconds.

I pulled away from him and saw a look of trust in his eyes again.

"So how are we gonna get food and water around Berk?" I asked him.

I crossed my arms in thought and glanced around the village. There were still no signs of Vikings outside. Occasionally, there was a flash of green darting around the great hall or silo. Around our house, several clicks, grunts, and snarls came from the Speed Stingers gathered there.

_Why aren't we fighting back?_ I wondered. _Why aren't there dragon carcasses lying around Berk by now?_

I was surprised at our reclusiveness today. There were seemingly no signs of Vikings fighting the Speed Stingers away, and Toothless didn't try to scare the Speed Stingers near our house off.

Toothless' actions made sense, considering my state of mind for the last day. The Viking population in Berk, on the other hand, did not.

I surveyed the village one more time and found nothing else of interest. From our point of view just inside the forest, there was nothing that gave me any hints as to how I could approach the problem we had with the Speed Stingers.

"C'mon, buddy, let's see what we can find."


	10. Chapter 10

We needed to do a quick survey of the island. My dad and Astrid were figuring they let Toothless out to relieve himself, and we were coming back immediately after that.

I got on his back, removed the plate from my peg, and stowed it, then clicked into the stirrup. Toothless jumped, and I nudged him gently with my right knee.

As Toothless rose into the air, I noticed a reddish Monstrous Nightmare asleep in the open just behind Snotlout's house. It was Hookfang. I gulped when I realized Snotlout kept him outside because of his size, leaving him vulnerable.

"Right there, bud," I whispered, pointing out Hookfang to Toothless. He grunted and pulled into a shallow dive, heading for Hookfang.

We landed about ten feet away from Snotlout's dragon, but he didn't respond to our arrival. His back was facing us, so I slowly walked around to his front and saw his eyes were open and unmoving. They were just like Johann's yesterday when I found him curled up in his boat.

I crouched near Hookfang's head and whispered his name. I touched his snout, trying to get a reaction out of him. He didn't respond.

His left thigh had a puncture mark, just like Johann's hand did. From this static image, I guessed a Speed Stinger had approached Hookfang from behind, stabbed him, and then waited for the inevitable.

But just like Johann's situation yesterday, something just didn't quite make sense. This was Hookfang's normal spot when he was resting. There was no sign of melting snow anywhere around him, so he wasn't defending himself. For a brief moment, I wondered if there was any pain when being stabbed by a Speed Stinger.

If the Speed Stingers were like any other dragon, they'd use their venom for defense or to secure food. It didn't make sense to me that they'd envenomate other animals at random.

Unless, of course, they were trying to get rid of us.

I was two seconds away from checking on Snotlout when Toothless suddenly began growling. Instinctively, I reached for my belt and pulled the knife out, ready to defend myself.

I glanced back at him, followed his gaze, and felt the color drain from my face. He had locked eyes with two Speed Stingers about ten feet away from him, but one was different than the others I had seen so far. This one had a red frill and red stripes going from side-to-side all the way down its body. Nearby was another Speed Stinger that was solid green, just like what I had encountered on Johann's boat.

The red-and-green Speed Stinger took a small step forward and roared at Toothless. Without warning, Toothless shot a fireball at the dragon's feet. The fireball created a shower of white slush around the two dragons. Toothless roared back, lunging at the red-and-green dragon with a ferocious swipe of his front claws.

Both Speed Stingers panicked while trying to dodge the fireball and Toothless' claws. The red-and-green dragon yelped as it turned and clumsily fell onto its side. 

_This_ was the Toothless I was used to. I watched as the red-and-green dragon scrambled to its feet and took off running, the green dragon closely following with several grunts. Four other Speed Stingers appeared seemingly out of nowhere and followed, their sudden presence startling me.

_I could have died and not known it,_ I thought.

A sudden burst of realization slammed into my mind. We weren't fighting back because we couldn't react quickly enough.

A second thought exploded immediately afterward – Why did those five Speed Stingers unquestioningly follow the red-and-green dragon? Just as soon as I had formed the question in my mind, I had an answer.

That red-and-green Speed Stinger had to be a pack leader.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Toothless turn in my direction. He quickly jumped forward with a warning roar that snapped my concentration. I looked toward him to find him already lunging around my left side, glaring straight through me. His mouth was wide open, like he was ready to deliver a fireball or crunch down on some unlucky dragon's neck.

I reflexively jumped to my right and collapsed in the snow, letting Toothless take care of whatever problem was nearby. In one fluid motion, he whipped around my side and shot another fireball that exploded with a hollow _bang_. The shock wave from the fireball's explosion ripped through my chest.

I bolted back up, unmindful of the snow coating my face and hair, searching for his latest target. It was another solid green Speed Stinger. The dragon moaned weakly for a couple seconds and then collapsed in the snow. Its upper chest had been torn open by the fireball, revealing the top of its ribcage.

Out of nowhere, a high-pitched roar came from my left side. Without thinking, I scrambled onto Toothless' back. He jumped and roared in surprise, then cut himself off once I placed a hand on the back of his neck, telling him it was me.

Several grunts, clicks, guttural hisses met my ears, and they all seemed to come from different angles. From a moderate distance in front of us, two Speed Stingers were sprinting in our direction, which was enough to tell me we needed to leave. There was no guess as to how many other dragons were surrounding us.

I tried to jam my peg into the stirrup but felt a resistance, like it was stuck. I looked down and noticed the stirrup had frozen over. The Speed Stingers were still sprinting toward us, several of them frothing slightly at the mouth. I slammed my peg through the layer of ice that had built on the stirrup. The catch loosened, and my peg slipped into the stirrup with a satisfying click.

"TOOTHLESS, UP!"

I yanked upward on his saddle. He jumped with a grunt and got out of the Speed Stingers' reach with at most a couple seconds to spare. I nudged him with my left knee, taking control of the flight. Just before we turned our backs to the dragons, I saw the leader again with its red stripes and frill. It roared in our direction and took off, following us, clicking loudly every so often. Around it, I lost count of how many green dragons there were, but I guessed around twenty or so.

"Toothless, no," I told him as he turned toward home.

I didn't need to learn this lesson twice. Going home meant we were bringing the entire herd of Speed Stingers with us. Instead, I rolled peg-in, turning us on a wide bank to the right. Maybe we could lose the dragons in the forest. And if not lose them, maybe we could trap them somewhere.

We flew over the treetops, hearing the grunts, clicks, and cries of the Speed Stingers below. Toothless was flying at a quick pace, and the dragons below us had no trouble keeping up. I thought for a second on where I wanted to direct these dragons.

I soon decided on the mountain at the northeastern side of the island, hoping to strand the dragons there. I directed Toothless slightly to our left. Without hesitation, the Speed Stingers followed.

Looking more closely at the herd of green dragons weaving through the trees below, I noticed a couple of them had broken off from the main pack and were either straggling or seemingly questioning the point of chasing us.

I turned my attention forward again, and within a few seconds, my eyes began watering from the wind. I tried to blink the water out of my field of vision, but the tears simply ran down my cheeks and froze there.

Toothless roared in alarm as the mountain loomed in front of us. I forced my eyes to stay open and rolled the stirrup to the left. Toothless banked in response, avoiding the face of the mountain.

_Toothless, I hope you trust me, buddy,_ I thought.

I stole a glance backwards and saw most of the Speed Stingers were still chasing, their blurry forms obscured by the building water in my eyes.

I returned my gaze forward, pulling in a quick breath. The island of Berk abruptly ended, leaving crashing waves beneath us.

I rolled toe-down and pushed on Toothless's saddle. He shot downward, plunging us toward the open ocean. At the last minute, we pulled out of his dive and banked right, away from the village. I knew there weren't any well-defined paths that led completely around the mountain, which meant the Speed Stingers would probably get discouraged and hopefully stuck.

The cold air quickly began its work on me as the mountain receded on my right side. I shivered as the wind bit through my clothing, unable to keep my entire body from shaking. It was also affecting my mind, because after about ten seonds, my only worry was getting home.

With just barely enough presence of mind to commit to the impromptu plan I had formed, I directed Toothless around the mountain and forest, making sure to keep from alerting the Speed Stingers we had lured into the open. My eyes were burning from the cold and my nose, ears, and mouth were completely numb. Toothless was gasping for breath. I hunkered down in the saddle, hoping to make us more aerodynamic so we could get home faster.

In the distance, a few wisps of curling smoke told me the village wasn't too far away. From the direction we were approaching, I knew our house was the first one we'd find.

It didn't take long before our house was in view. Smoke was rising from the chimney, which indicated there was a welcoming fire at the hearth.

Toothless groaned in exhaustion, losing altitude quickly. I was too cold to say anything, so I simply braced myself for a crash landing. My hands feebly tightened on the saddle, unable to form a strong grip from the cold. We slammed into the snow-covered ground about fifty feet away from home with a muffled _thump_. Toothless skidded on his front about ten feet and then stopped, his head buried in snow.

I somehow swung my right leg over his back and tried to wrench my peg out of the stirrup, but it wouldn't budge. There was a layer of ice built around the peg and stirrup, locking them in place.

Cursing under my breath, I slipped the peg's catch free from my left leg and collapsed on the ground. I wrapped my burning hands around the peg and pulled, trying to free it. After two pulls, there was a crunching noise, and the peg slipped free from the stirrup. I fell backwards and sat down to avoid tumbling any further. From the satchel at my waist, I pulled out the snow plate, but it slipped from my hands and landed edge-on, burying itself halfway into the snow. I picked up the plate and attached it to my peg, then cinched the peg back onto my left leg and stood.

Panicking, I rushed over to Toothless and uncovered his head to keep him from freezing. I turned, facing our door and dashed toward it. There, I could get my dad and Astrid to help me bring Toothless inside to recover.

I reached our front door and yanked on it. The door opened, revealing my dad, Stormfly, and Thornado all with their backs facing the door. There was a roaring fire at the hearth. And there was a green, bipedal dragon with red eyes glaring back at me.


	11. Chapter 11

Terror gripped my mind as the Speed Stinger pulled back its upper lips and snarled. Droplets of saliva rained from its mouth. It showed off its teeth, making sure I knew just how dangerous and angry it was. Every second or two, the dragon popped its jaws together with a hollow snapping sound, throwing out a brief spray of saliva. The dragon roared at me from within the house, the sound reverberating.

I was shivering in both fright and cold, unable to move anything, including my eyes.

The Speed Stinger took a small step in my direction. Somehow, the movement brought me just barely back to my senses. The dragon was slowly closing the distance between us, and I knew exactly why it was intimidating me.

This dragon had claimed its territory, and I was intruding on it.

Without looking, I pulled the knife out from my belt. The dragon reacted slightly as its eyes moved from my own down to my left side, where I had the knife pointing at its chest. After a split-second, the Speed Stinger locked eyes with me again. My heart was pounding and sweat was running down my chest and back. I tried to gulp when the dragon took another step toward me, but my mouth was completely dry.

The dragon intensified its snarl at me, telling me to leave it alone.

_No_ , I thought.

Some misplaced sense of protectiveness surged within me. Stormfly, my dad, and Thornado were in my house, seemingly unmindful of the Speed Stinger a couple feet away. This dragon had already done its work on them. They were completely unable to defend themselves. Astrid was nowhere to be seen, and Toothless was behind me. He hadn't come to my rescue yet, which probably meant he was too exhausted to stand or do anything else for that matter.

I flexed my knees slightly, ready to fight. The Speed Stinger roared again, nearly deafening me with its shrill cry.

I winced slightly, unable to hide it, but I stayed my ground. Through some convoluted plan, I was going to get the Speed Stinger out of the house, get Toothless inside, and latch the door behind us.

I took a slow step backward, hoping to keep this staring contest going. The dragon took a step forward. I stepped backward with my right foot and nearly tripped over a small snow drift.

I looked down to check my balance just as the Speed Stinger roared again from inside. My eyes went wide, and I snapped my gaze back up as the dragon started barreling forward. My concentration was broken by that little snow drift, and now I was about to become the next victim of paralysis in Berk.

The Speed Stinger was maybe five feet away from me when it lunged forward without turning. It jumped with its right foot pointing at my chest, like it was going to eviscerate me with its claws.

Instinctively, I brought my left hand up. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away as the business end of the knife bit into the Speed Stinger's foot. The dragon continued its lunge forward, inadvertently stabbing itself.

I was knocked backwards by the force of the Speed Stinger clobbering me with its full body weight. In sheer panic, I didn't realize for a second or two that my knife had been driven to the hilt in the dragon's right foot.

As my vision cleared, I began looking for the knife and found it in a pool of dragon's blood. The Speed Stinger had collapsed on its side, a large gash torn open from the center of its right foot all the way to the outside. Blood was gushing onto the snow, making a stark contrast between red and white.

I scrambled to a crawling position and picked up the knife just as the dragon roared again, although this time it seemed like its tone was a mix of pain and anger.

I stood and turned to face the Speed Stinger, noticing it was about ten feet away from Toothless' head. It had found its footing, although the dragon was favoring its left side.

Panting, I lunged my way between the two dragons. The Speed Stinger roared again and whipped its body sideways, its tail striking the snow where my right foot was an instant ago. I stayed between Toothless and the Speed Stinger, trying to keep its attention on me.

I swiped the knife at the air in front of the Speed Stinger with a sharp yell, hoping to catch its attention. Its tail lashed forward, burying the tip in the snow between my feet. I quickly swiped backward, the jarring blow thrumming up through my left hand as the knife's blade dragged across the dragon's tail. The Speed Stinger screamed in panic as it yanked its tail away.

My mind just slightly cleared itself as I realized the Speed Stinger would be limited in movement toward its right side. Using my peg to push off the snow, I leaped to my right, toward the dragon's good leg.

I had revealed a motionless Toothless, but it didn't matter. The Speed Stinger's focus was entirely centered on me.

As I had thought, it awkwardly pushed toward me using its right foot, which sank into the snow. The Speed Stinger stumbled to its left as I realized it probably wasn't going to die because of its foot or tail. The snow was going to help the blood clot. And it wouldn't be long before the dragon calmed down just enough to finish both Toothless and me off.

I jumped toward the dragon with another yell, my knife already underneath its chin, pointing to my right. I brought the knife upward and slashed to my left. The blade sagged a little as it bit into the dragon's throat. Several more drops of red patterned the snow below it as the dragon screamed again in panic.

But the dragon didn't stop.

The dragon's tail whipped around its body, gashing through the yak skin coat I was wearing. Somehow, the barbed tip missed my skin. But even more miraculously, its tail got caught in my right sleeve. I wrapped my forearm and hand around the dragon's tail, securing a strong point of contact. I had control of the dragon, even if it was just for a little bit.

I took a large step to my left and lunged with a guttural yell, whirling around, using my shoulders and hips to throw the dragon off balance. It shrieked and thrashed as I forced it to turn slightly, bumping its tail against my arm several times but not gaining any purchase.

I saw its throat again and noticed I had barely caused any bleeding. I was ready to throw up, thanks to being squeamish about the sight of blood, but I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind.

Without thinking, I brought the knife back up and slashed to my right, hoping this time would be enough. Once again, the dragon screamed and thrashed, spraying a few droplets blood on the snow in front of us. I followed its powerful movements, making sure not to be thrown off balance.

But the dragon didn't stop.

The Speed Stinger roared in anger as it kicked wildly at the air. I felt a tug on my right side as one of its claws ripped a hole in the yakskin coat I was wearing. A loud tearing sound met my ears as its foot came back down, and a blast of cold air hit my right flank. I jumped to my left with a grunt, trying to avoid being gashed open by the dragon's claws.

I turned again, pulling the dragon with me using its tail. The Speed Stinger fought against me, trying to escape with its haphazard movements.

After a few seconds of the dragon thrashing, a violent _snap_ coursed up through my right hand and arm. The Speed Stinger screeched in abject pain as I realized it had either broken or dislocated its tail from being caught in my sleeve. I yanked on its tail again, sending a wave of agony through the Speed Stinger. Underneath the dragon's skin, its tail bones slid in my hand unnaturally.

I lunged forward for a third time and swiped the knife across the dragon's throat with a loud grunt, trying to dig as deeply as I could, but got nothing except for another shriek and a few more drops of blood on the snow.

The dragon's movements had slowed considerably, leaving its bleeding throat open for more time. My eyes locked on it, watching blood pulse out of the open wounds and run down the dragon's chest.

"Oh, gods," I mumbled.

Those thoughts about blood came back, this time not to be denied.

In a last-ditch attempt to finish this, I stepped toward the dragon again, this time stabbing upward through its neck with every bit of strength I had. The knife hesitated just briefly before breaking through its throat and spilling an obscene amount of steaming crimson onto my left hand, front, and the snow in between us. The blade tilted to my right as it raked against the dragon's neck bones.

The dragon opened its mouth wide in shock. It gurgled in frozen agony for a few seconds, blood dripping from its mouth onto my left arm, before it slowly collapsed on the red snow. I fell with the dragon, my hands unable to let go of the knife and its tail.

After several seconds, I finally peeled my right hand off the Speed Stinger's tail, and it slid out from my sleeve and flopped at a disturbing angle compared to the rest of the dragon's body. The dragon twitched a few times and was still after that, its eyes open but glassy.

I haltingly let go of the knife, crawling away from the Speed Stinger and Toothless. My loud, gasping breaths could have probably been heard throughout the village. After about ten feet, I stopped crawling and threw up, the horrible taste burning my throat as much as the snow was burning my hands. Tears came out of my eyes as I tried to make the sickening flow stop. But it all came back up, and I collapsed onto my side, panting in exhaustion.

I curled into a ball and shivered, horrified at what I had just done.

_I killed a dragon._

I groaned in agony, wishing all of this was simply a bad dream. I just wanted to wake up to find Toothless next to me, making sure I was safe.

_I killed a dragon._

Those four words kept repeating themselves in my head, becoming louder every time I thought about it.

_I killed a dragon._

The world around me soon blurred completely out of focus.


	12. Chapter 12

My eyes were open the entire time I was lying on the ground next to the dead Speed Stinger, but I couldn't distinguish what I was looking at. Time felt like it wasn't passing at all. I couldn't even tell if I was cold.

A shadow fell over my eyes.

_Just kill me now,_ I thought. _I deserve it._

A hand wrapped underneath my right arm and pulled me semi-upright. I watched impassively as the dead Speed Stinger slowly receded from my point of view. My boot and peg were making a pair of furrows in the snow as I was dragged along to some place for my judgment.

Whoever was dragging me brought me into a house with a roaring fire. I was thrown into a chair just before a face appeared inches in front of me. I couldn't focus on who it was, but I knew this person was somewhat heavy-set with a yellowish mustache hanging over the sides of his mouth.

The Viking said something, but I only saw his mouth moving.

"Hiccup," he said, a little more urgently this time.

I heard it but didn't comprehend anything. He sounded like he was a mile away and underwater. He waved a blurry hand in front of my face. I couldn't move anything in response.

He stood and began walking away from me, seemingly giving up for now. His left hand was missing. In its place was a pair of large forceps. A small part of my mind defogged as I realized who this person was.

Gobber had pulled me away from that nightmare. He brought me to a house somewhere on Berk and was taking care of me for now.

My mind and body slowly began working over what seemed like hours.

It started with my skin. I felt the warmth from the fire in the hearth as it fought off the cold aura surrounding me. My hands and the right side of my torso burned fiercely as they thawed from being exposed to the snow.

My eyes were next. The wooden floor beneath me slowly lost its blurriness. I found my peg and focused on the plate attached to it.

My ears followed. I slowly heard my breathing fade into existence, followed by the crackling of the fire nearby.

My nose followed, as I smelled a thick, coppery odor that wouldn't leave.

I tried to take a deep breath, and my lungs seized. I keeled over in pain and collapsed on the floor with an agonized groan. The impact to my shoulder jarred me just enough to help me focus.

"Hiccup!" Gobber shouted from somewhere nearby. He picked me up by the arm again and sat me down in the same chair. "Hiccup, talk to me!"

I pulled in a breath, but when I tried to say something, only a voiceless rush of air came out of my mouth. I couldn't move my lips to act like I was trying to talk.

From somewhere to my right, a girl's voice rang throughout the house. "Gobber, what happened to Hiccup?" It sounded like Astrid.

Gobber glanced in her direction and shrugged. "I think he killed a dragon."

I blinked, voluntary movement slowly coming back to me. My eyes focused on Gobber. I looked directly at him, as if I were affirming what he told Astrid.

"T-Too..." I whispered, trying my hardest to enunciate so that Gobber heard me.

He looked at Astrid and asked, "Where's Toothless?"

"Near his house, not moving. Is... is he dead?" she asked.

I closed my eyes, hoping what I was about to say with motion wasn't a lie. I shook my head slowly and almost imperceptibly, unable to form any words.

"See if you can get him over here," Gobber translated for her.

Astrid didn't say anything, only slamming the door shut behind her.

Gobber refocused his attention on me and said, "Come on, Hiccup. Look at me. I'm not gonna ask you what happened out there." He motioned with his hand in the general direction of my house. "Just tell me you're gonna be okay."

I nodded slowly, a single tear escaping my eye and running down my face.

"I don't know how long you and Toothless were out there, but you almost died from the cold," he told me.

At that moment, the door flew open with a loud _bang_.

Gobber looked in that direction and said, "Astrid's got Toothless with her."

Astrid slowly coaxed Toothless inside. He gave a low groan as he half-dragged himself toward the hearth, following Astrid's lead. He collapsed with his head just barely in my peripheral vision. I turned my head just slightly to look at him and saw his body shaking violently, shivering from the cold. For a brief moment, I wondered why Toothless wasn't himself out there. Why didn't he rush in to protect me like he always did?

"Lock the door, Astrid!" Gobber shouted in her direction. She shut the door and latched it.

From somewhere else in the house, a voice asked, "Is that Baster Hiccub?"

After a few seconds, I realized it was Johann, and he was trying to ask, _Is that Master Hiccup?_ His nose sounded like it was somehow completely sealed, as if it was broken.

"Yes," Astrid announced. "And no, you're not going to bother him."

"Oh, dat's too bad. I was sure he'd warb ub listeding to how I-"

_"Johann, stop!"_ Astrid shouted at him. "Just leave him alone!"

Astrid knelt in front of me with a worried look on her face. She paused for a little bit then whispered, "Hiccup, you're the bravest person I've ever met."

I tried to thank her. But something shut my throat, and all I could do was look down slightly and close my eyes. I felt another tear roll down my cheek. Astrid brushed it away. She was going to look after me, even though I somehow remembered her dragon was probably in more danger than I was.

Astrid pulled a chair up next to me. She sat down and put her hand on my right knee without saying a word. Just like Toothless, she was going to be there for me when I needed her most.

I sat there with my eyes closed until I fell asleep from exhaustion.


	13. Chapter 13

_I killed a dragon._

I couldn't believe how horrible I felt about it. Astrid and Gobber didn't seem that concerned about what I did. They even tried to stay away from that topic. But deep down inside, I felt like I couldn't live with myself again.

I wasn't sure if I had a good reason to kill that Speed Stinger. If I would have shut the door upon seeing it, I wouldn't have had to deal with watching and feeling that dragon die. I wouldn't have had to experience that sickening, bottomless-pit-of-my-stomach feeling after seeing all that crimson blood spill from the dragon's throat.

But what if I _had_ shut the door? What if I didn't give that dragon the opportunity to attack?

I wondered about that for a little bit then realized there was no "right" solution to this problem. If I had left the Speed Stinger alone, my dad, Stormfly, and Thornado would have been trapped with that dragon, unable to defend themselves. It probably wouldn't have taken long for it to kill them.

Something in me had to have been thinking ahead when I chose to fight the dragon. And somehow, through a small miracle, I escaped with my life. Toothless was hopefully okay as well. But it didn't make me feel any better knowing I was directly responsible for killing a dragon.

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the floor about ten feet away from the hearth. This house didn't seem familiar, so I guessed I was still with Gobber.

That same coppery smell I had noticed earlier was still hovering around me. Looking down, I saw a large red-brown stain covering my front from my chest to my knees. It was a bloodstain, well, more like a bloodbath from the Speed Stinger.

My eyes settled on Toothless, who was curled up and sleeping lightly about two feet away from my head. He wasn't shaking uncontrollably like he was earlier. Every time he exhaled, a plume of steam came out of his snout. He certainly looked relaxed. I wondered if he knew what I had done in front of him earlier... when was it? Today? Yesterday? Moreover, I wondered if he judged me for it.

I reached slowly toward Toothless's head and stroked his cheek. He groaned softly, opening his eyes and looking at me. As soon as we made eye contact, I felt a deep calming presence settle over my shoulders.

"Hey, bud," I whispered to him with a little smile.

Toothless grunted and dragged himself to about six inches away from me. I sat up, feeling his gentle warmth. Toothless rumbled gently, telling me to relax. He was here now.

"I hope... I hope you're not mad at me," I whispered.

Toothless pulled his gaze away from me and sniffed at my chest and midsection.

I tensed just slightly, knowing I couldn't hide this reminder from anyone. I felt his short breaths coming and going as he locked the scent of the dragon's blood into his mind.

After a few seconds, Toothless returned his gaze to my eyes for a beat. I tried to hide my worried expression from him, just hoping he'd tolerate me wearing a strange dragon's blood.

Toothless closed his eyes and pushed his snout gently into my left shoulder.

The breath I had been holding all this time suddenly escaped my mouth in a sharp burst. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held onto him, not wanting to move or go anywhere.

There were some times, like now, when he seemingly understood exactly what I was saying or going through. And even though I couldn't speak Night Fury, I could interpret what he was telling me. The only thing I needed to do was pay attention to him.

He let me hold onto him as long as I needed to. When I let go, he gently licked the side of my face. The air around me smelled a little like fish that had been sitting out too long.

"Thanks, bud," I told him, scratching under his chin.

He closed his eyes and murmured in contentment. Toothless wasn't mad at all. And not only that, he promised to keep what happened a secret... well, at least I preferred to think about it that way.

Behind me, the door quietly clicked open. For a second or two, I heard the wind whistling through the village, followed by the door shutting quietly. The latch slid into place.

"Are you two feeling better?" Astrid asked in a whisper as she sat down beside us.

I nodded slowly before looking at her. "I think I'm gonna be okay. What about you?"

After a moment, she shrugged, looking away from me and Toothless. "Stormfly is paralyzed. So are your dad and Thornado. I'm just trying to make sure they stay warm while the Speed Stinger venom wears off."

"How long did it take for Johann?" I asked, dropping my voice to a whisper. I wasn't sure if he was still in this house, and I didn't feel like listening to his grand adventures with the Maneating Metal Masons of Minori Majori again, or whatever they were.

"Gobber says about a day and a half from when you brought Johann here," she answered.

"Are they gonna be okay?" I asked, referring to my dad and the two dragons in our house.

"We think so." Upon seeing the look of confusion in my face, she added, "Me and Gobber. Your house is locked tight."

She paused, and after a few seconds, she moved her gaze slightly away from me.

"Gobber's been upset with me since you and Toothless went out this morning." She had a hint of guilt behind her voice.

"What happened?" I asked without thinking.

Astrid took a deep breath and said, "Everybody was angry in your house. Not just you. After you and Toothless left, I went out to check on my aunt. I was gonna tell her to stay inside and keep the doors locked unless she absolutely had to be outdoors. But when I got about halfway there, I heard Stormfly shouting at something."

Astrid paused to sigh. There was a brief, deafening silence in the house. After several seconds, she continued.

"I didn't think to close the door because I was so angry. It was open for maybe fifteen seconds, but that was enough to let a Speed Stinger in. I tried to run back there to see if I could fight the dragon off, but it almost stabbed me with its tail. I tried to get it out of the house somehow. I didn't care if it paralyzed me, as long as I could get it out of the house, I knew everything would be okay. But your dad told me to not let the dragon get out. So I slammed the door behind me and ran to Gobber's house."

I simply looked at Astrid. I had no idea she could have a lapse of judgment like that. It wasn't even that big of a mistake, but she had paid for it in spades.

For years, I had been so used to looking up to everyone in Berk, somehow believing everybody else was perfect, and I was the only one who ever made mistakes. Even now, it was a shock to my mind to find out Astrid could slip up too.

"I'm... I'm sorry," I whispered to her, unable to think of anything else to tell her.

"It's not your fault," she replied. "I thought you wanted to get away from me and your dad for a little while. In the back of my mind, I thought you were nearby, waiting to return. I didn't know you and Toothless were trying to keep the Speed Stingers away from Berk."

She paused for a little bit, then looked down and said, "I've never felt so hopeless."

My heart skipped a beat as I felt the color drain from my face. For that last sentence, I didn't hear Astrid at all. What she had said sounded like me. I had spent most of my life with that feeling, thinking it was somehow normal. I didn't understand people who never felt that way. Now, I could relate to how she felt. But I had no idea what to say or if I was supposed to remain silent.

I chose to keep my mouth shut. I had a sinking feeling something sarcastic was going to come out of my mouth, which would only make the situation worse. I put my left hand on her forearm, telling her I was still here. She had done this several times for me in the past. Toothless did things like this all the time. Maybe this was my chance to return the favor.

Astrid looked at my hand briefly and then asked, "What do I do?"

I looked down, only hearing myself again. This was the exact feeling I had the night before I was supposed to fight a dragon for my "rite of passage" a year and a half ago. It was that bleak, empty feeling, knowing Toothless would be ripped away from me, and also knowing there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Can you help me get all the Speed Stingers out of Berk?" I finally asked after a long silence.

"Hiccup, Gobber and I are trying to do that already," she pointed out.

"How?"

She paused and shrugged. "I guess... just keep them away from our food stores."

"That's it?" I replied. "What about all the people who live here? What about the dragons we take care of?"

Astrid buried her face in her hands and said, "I already feel horrible about this. You don't need to make it any worse."

As if on cue, Toothless groaned softly and nudged Astrid's right arm with his snout.

Astrid looked at Toothless as a tear ran down her face. He rumbled gently, telling her everything was going to be fine. I said nothing, letting Toothless work his magic.

Astrid took a deep, quavering breath while Toothless waited patiently for her. After a moment, she reached out and scratched his cheek gently. Toothless murmured in contentment, letting Astrid work out all of her anxiety.

Toothless shuffled a little closer to Astrid and gently pushed on her shoulder with a short _whuff_. I watched silently as Astrid slowly relaxed while she doted on Toothless. It seemed like he was absorbing all of her anxiety and guilt so she wouldn't have to deal with it.

I didn't understand how Toothless was so patient with Astrid or me. This wasn't the first time he calmed either of our states of mind.

I had been lost in thought for a few minutes when Astrid whispered, "How does he do it?"

I blinked a couple of times, bringing my mind back to the present tense and asked, "What?"

She motioned toward Toothless with her head.

"Oh. Magic, I guess."

She looked at him contemplatively. Toothless brought his head down slightly and licked her hand. A few seconds later, he turned and padded back to me.

"He's so beautiful," she said.

I nodded in agreement as I knuckled gently into the top of his head. Toothless pressed upward, telling me he liked what I was doing.

For a few moments, the air in Gobber's house felt calmer and more welcoming. The frozen world outside seemed to disappear, all because of Toothless' presence.

I sighed, a plume of steam coming out of my mouth, as I mulled an idea around in my head. I committed to it, running through about fifty different ways to broach the topic with Astrid.

"Uh, Astrid," I began quietly. I paused, mentally checking myself before continuing. "Have you noticed that the Speed Stingers have a leader?"

I was ready for a whirlwind, unsure if Astrid was ready to discuss this topic yet. But she simply stared at me and shook her head.

"There's a Speed Stinger that has green and red stripes. I think they follow him. Or her. Wherever that dragon goes, the rest of them will follow."

Astrid sat there in thought for a little bit. "How did you find that out?" she asked.

"After I took Toothless outside, I noticed Hookfang was paralyzed. I had Toothless fly over to him, and there were several Speed Stingers nearby. One of them had those red and green stripes. When Toothless shot a plasma blast to intimidate the dragons, that one was the first to run away, and all the others around us followed it."

"So you think we can somehow capture that dragon and take it somewhere off of Berk?"

"Yeah, that's my idea."

"What if they try to come back?" she asked.

I took a deep breath and thought for a little bit. Snotlout had created a large gap in the ice sheet extending west from Berk. But it didn't seem to do any good because the Speed Stingers arrived here anyway.

"I don't know," I said after a pause. "Maybe we could stand guard on the western edge of Berk."

Astrid furrowed her brow in concentration. "That'd be cold for whoever is out there. What if we built some kind of wall to keep them out?"

"That could work," I said without much thought. Then a realization hit me. My forehead met my left palm as I said, "It would take too long. We'd have to move it as soon as all the Speed Stingers are out of Berk and lock it in place."

"Does this mean you're giving up?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said with a sigh.

"Well, don't," she said assertively. "Keep thinking. Maybe something will stick." Astrid sounded like she was back to normal, thanks to Toothless.

I wondered how we might be able to get the Speed Stingers out of Berk. Those dragons were unbelievably elusive. I felt like it was a pure stroke of luck to even catch a glimpse of their leader, much less walk away from that encounter.

"What if we kill the lead dragon?" she asked after a moment.

I slumped. I put my forehead into my left palm and grabbed onto my hair. "No. I'm not gonna do that again," I whined, dancing around the phrase "kill a dragon."

"Hiccup, you said Toothless was guarding his territory from them. If we kill the lead dragon, the rest of them will leave."

"I really don't want to kill anything," I said.

"This is Toothless' territory. Let him defend it."

"I can't," I nearly whispered. "I can't risk Toothless' life for this. There _has_ to be some other way to do this."

Astrid scowled. After a brief silence, she said, "At least think about it, okay?"

I took a deep breath and sighed audibly without looking at Astrid. "Fine," I conceded.

My goal within ten seconds was to forget her idea. I only told her "fine" to end the conversation.

I waited, counting the seconds away in my head, hoping Astrid would switch topics.

A voice shouting from outside broke my concentration. Neither Astrid nor I understood what that person was saying, but I knew from the tone it was urgent. Astrid bolted up and ran to the door, opening it to reveal Fishlegs. He was wrapped in a heavy yakskin coat but still shivering.

Just before Astrid shut the door behind him, I noticed the sun was already gone for the night.

Fishlegs' teeth were chattering so hard I thought he might crack his jaw. As he slowly limped past me, I noticed he was bleeding from a small puncture mark in his right forearm. He sat down near the fire, unmindful of the open wound. His face and hands were a light blue, and his lips were almost purple.

"So cold..." he mumbled. "So cold..." He shivered, edging closer to the fire.

Astrid and I exchanged worried glances. Toothless grunted from behind me.

I slowly walked into his field of vision and knelt.

"What's going on?" I whispered.

He painstakingly moved his eyes to meet mine, never blinking. "I... I dono," he stammered.

I waited for Fishlegs to continue, but he only looked through me while shivering violently.

"M-mm..." Fishlegs started. But his mouth wouldn't open. His eyes became more hollow as he drew his knees to his chest. I couldn't look away as he stopped moving.


	14. Chapter 14

I tore my eyes away from Fishlegs's petrified gaze as he slowly collapsed on his side, exactly like I had found Johann a couple days ago.

"Is... is he dead?" Astrid whispered.

"I... I... don't think so," I replied after a long silence.

I threw one of the blankets Gobber had stashed nearby over Fishlegs to keep him warm, then slowly walked to the table and sat down.

"The weather is freezing, and we can't be outdoors for more than five seconds," I mumbled to no one in particular.

"What's your plan?" Astrid asked gently.

"I don't know," I said, rubbing my forehead with my open palm.

"How are we going to get the Speed Stingers out of Berk?" she clarified. She waited for my response, but I stayed silent. Nothing came to mind. "You know the longer they stay here, the harder it will be to get rid of them," she added.

"Yes, thank you for making that absolutely clear to me," I said curtly.

"Hiccup, I'm trying to help. Maybe we can come up with an idea together. We've already decided a barricade won't work, and we aren't gonna kill any more dragons."

"What am I supposed to do!?" I shouted. "Wave my hands and hope the Speed Stingers will _magically_ disappear?"

"That would be nice," she replied without missing a beat.

"Well, it's not gonna happen. I'm sorry to get your hopes up," I said sarcastically.

"Hiccup, you're Chief of Berk now. Everyone here is depending on you. You can't just give up like this."

A pang of realization hit me like someone had punched me in the stomach. I hadn't even thought about the consequences of my dad being incapacitated.

"Way to rub it in," I said to the table in front of me after a long silence. "Every choice I've made about the Speed Stingers has led to more problems. How in Thor's name does that even remotely make me any kind of 'chief?'"

"Would your dad do anything different?"

"Probably," I replied. "He would have barricaded the docks or something like that. Something so that we wouldn't have to worry about Speed Stingers."

"Your dad supported you from the beginning!" Astrid shouted. "If he didn't like an idea of yours, he would have said something different!"

I tried to stifle a short laugh. "And why was he crazy enough to agree with _my_ logic? In case you haven't noticed, we can't get to our food stores, we're trapped in our own homes, it's freezing outside, and most of the village is petrified! He coulda prevented all of that!"

At that moment, the door opened, revealing Gobber supporting Johann. Johann's nose was grotesquely swollen and red. I connected the image with the difficulty he had while speaking earlier and realized his nose was frostbitten.

Maybe ten minutes had elapsed between Fishlegs turning to stone and the door opening. With a bunch of Speed Stingers hiding throughout the village, it didn't make sense to me how Gobber and Johann could show up unscathed at this moment.

"Hiccup, why are you so hard on yourself?" Gobber asked me as he walked Johann inside. He closed the door behind them. Johann was using a wooden crutch to keep the weight off his gashed leg. Gobber helped him into an empty chair at the table.

"Thahk you, Gohbber," Johann said quietly. Toothless whuffed quietly at Johann, probably because he was less familiar with him.

I put my head into my arms on the table. "Great," I said. "Just fan-tas-tic. Now the entire world will know we don't have a chief."

"Stand up, Hiccup," Gobber commanded.

Against my better judgment, I slowly moved the chair away from his table and stood.

"Look at me," he said.

I did, although I could barely meet his eyes.

"I heard most of your conversation from outside. Astrid's right. You're Chief for now. And, no, you haven't made any bad decisions."

"Have you looked around Berk recently?" I asked impatiently.

"Oh, yes," he said quickly. "Nobody's dead, and we still have our food stores. So tell me why you think you shouldn't be Chief?"

"Because I can't protect anyone here. That's why."

"I beg to differ, Baster Hiccub," Johann chimed in. His inability to enunciate clearly had no effect at all on his talkative nature. "I would have bed dead if you hadit foud be."

After a few seconds, I realized he was saying, _I would have been dead if you hadn't found me._

I wanted to tell Johann that his situation was different, that he somehow "didn't count." But that was blatant disrespect to everyone in this household. And I knew I wasn't crass enough to blurt it out, especially to Johann himself.

The fact was I _did_ protect him. Not only that, I saved his life.

I thought for a few moments, trying to find an answer to Gobber's question. I knew I just wasn't "Chief" material. After a short pause, I gave up, looking away from Gobber, unable to meet his stare any longer.

"Look at me, Hiccup," he said again.

I took a deep breath and slowly moved my eyes back toward his.

"You don't approach problems like your dad or anyone else here."

"Translated: incorrectly," I stated before Gobber could continue. "That's exactly what happened when I tried to strand the Speed Stingers on the mountain."

Gobber rolled his eyes and said, "Are you gonna listen or do I have to tear your head open with this to help you listen?" He held up his prosthetic hook.

Somehow, his tone was a little too serious for me to take it lightly. I sighed and made a small motion with my left hand for him to continue.

"You did the right thing, making sure our food store was safe," Gobber said, changing the subject.

"And just how do you know the Speed Stingers haven't gotten to it already?" I blurted out, unable to keep silent.

"Easy. Those dragons are only out for a few hours at a time."

"What!?" Astrid shouted. "Fishlegs just became paralyzed a few minutes ago!"

I knew Johann couldn't move quickly because of his leg. He and Gobber must have trudged through the cold and snow at a snail's pace.

Gobber shrugged like he had no plausible answer. "Maybe he ran into a straggler. But right now, you can stand in the middle of the plaza."

"So, what?" I began. "Should I tell everyone they can go to the great hall now?"

"We've already done that," Gobber said. "Everyone who can still move has been to the great hall and back. That's why Johann and I were gone."

"See!?" I pounced. " _This_ is why I can't be Chief! Because I'm too stupid to think about stuff like this!"

Gobber turned to Astrid and opened his mouth, but she cut him off.

"Uh-uh," she said in frustration. "I'll save him from himself."

She strode toward me, grabbed my upper left arm and pulled. I was nearly yanked off my feet as I stumbled behind Astrid.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" I shouted. She didn't reply.

As she opened the door, we were blasted by a rush of snow and freezing air. Astrid pushed me against the outer wall of Gobber's house and plastered her forearm across my chest, preventing me from moving. She glared into my eyes as I squirmed against her strength and the cold.

"I'll wait as long as it takes," she announced.

The wind whistled through the village, covering my left side with snow. The right side of my torso also became painfully cold, thanks to the gash in my coat from the Speed Stinger.

After a couple minutes of Astrid pinning me and the snow freezing my left ear and right side, I finally gave up, and she let go of some of the pressure.

"Are you gonna help us now?" she asked simply.

I sighed gruffly. I wanted to complain, but I had already done enough of that.

"Yes," I conceded quietly.

Astrid smiled a little, although there was a hint of malice behind it, like she was ready to hit me if I said anything stupid again.

"Good. I'll be waiting here. Get Toothless and bring him with you."

I scowled but didn't say anything as I trudged back into Gobber's house and immediately found Toothless watching me.

"C'mon, bud," I said flatly.

Toothless stood on all fours and slowly lumbered toward the open door. Astrid silently joined us as I closed the door behind Toothless and climbed onto his back.

Astrid looked at me quizzically before deciding to follow my lead. I helped her onto the saddle but didn't hook in with my peg.

"That way, bud," I whispered to Toothless, pointing toward the great hall.

I was grateful Gobber lived near the main plaza, just across from the forge and armory. Walking to the great hall would take a couple minutes at the most.

He began silently loping in that direction. It didn't take long for him to reach the large double doors leading into the great hall. Astrid dismounted and wrenched one of the doors open, letting Toothless amble past her with me still on his back. An echoing clank reverberated throughout the great hall as the door closed behind us.


	15. Chapter 15

Inside the great hall, a roaring fire was welcoming us in the large pit built into the floor. At the back was a pile of fish and eels. It was smaller than normal, thanks to the winter taking its toll on our resources.

I glanced around the hall and noticed it sounded completely empty, even though it wasn't. I counted several Vikings lying on their sides with empty stares on their faces. Any time Toothless stepped or we moved, it echoed for several seconds before fading into silence. Normally, there was background noise to soak up all of our sounds, but today was just... eerie.

"Right here, bud," I said to Toothless, my voice echoing.

He stopped at the ledge surrounding the fire pit. The fire pit was between us and the fish at the back of the great hall, the heat distorting our view of the pile. Astrid stayed with him while I grabbed a basket, filled it with fish, and put two more on dishes for her and me. I returned to Toothless and Astrid and realized just how hungry I was.

Toothless was investigating a motionless Viking nearby, sniffing over her head and left shoulder. He nudged her with his snout, but she never responded. Toothless sat back on his haunches and looked at me with an expression like he was asking for my help.

"C'mere, buddy," I said quietly, avoiding having to somehow explain several people were frozen in time.

Toothless slowly padded toward me and began smelling the contents of the basket in front of him.

I flipped the basket lid open, and Toothless dove in. He pulled a fish out with his mouth, looking at me. He swallowed it with a grunt and returned to his basket in silence.

Astrid and I worked skewers through our fishes and held them in the fire. I kept Toothless within sight, ready to stop him if he started wandering too close to the fish in the back.

Toothless finished the contents in his basket and looked around the great hall for a few seconds, licking his lips.

I always wondered what Toothless was thinking when he simply glanced around his surroundings. Maybe he was scanning the area so he could be ready to protect me. There didn't seem to be much on his mind, because he looked at me in appreciation before lying on the ground next to my feet and curling up for at least some rest. After a few seconds he sighed in contentment, the sound echoing softly.

I pulled my fish out of the flames once it began developing a blackened color and examined it. I began eating, relishing the taste of cooked food once again. I ate like it was my last meal, making sure to savor every bite. And before I knew it, the fish in front of me was a husk of bone and innards. I tossed the remains into the fire, where they turned black and sizzled audibly. I sat down on the stone ledge surrounding the fire pit, my legs overhanging the edge.

"Feel better?" Astrid asked, a faint echo accompanying her question.

I jumped slightly, completely forgetting about her again. I looked at her briefly and nodded, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her. In actuality, what I told her was a complete lie. I didn't feel any different after that meal, except for less hunger.

We sat there in silence. The fire was crackling, and Toothless was breathing. Every time he exhaled, a plume of steam came out of his snout. I kept my eyes on Toothless. He looked so peaceful the way he was curled up near my feet, even though Speed Stingers were doing a phenomenal job of keeping us on-edge. Not that the winter weather was any less traumatic, mind you. But Toothless just seemed not to care right now, maybe because he knew I was with him.

I got off the ledge and sat down next to Toothless, the shuffling of my coat and trousers echoing throughout the hall. He looked at me curiously for a few seconds before resting his head on his paws again. I stroked along the side of his neck, hoping some of my fear and worry would leave. Toothless closed his eyes and sighed.

After a while, Toothless rumbled appreciatively. I smiled a little in return, feeling some of the stress I had built up over the last few days disappear.

How he could make me feel better was a mystery, and at some point, I thought I would have gotten used to it and learned all of his tricks. But every time he did something like this, I felt exactly the same as that magical first evening we touched.

I didn't know how long I had been sitting next to Toothless, but after a while, I felt like all my pent-up fear, worry, and stress had melted away.

Astrid sat down next to me. She pulled me into a loose hug and whispered, "You love him, don't you?"

I nodded silently, not wanting to break this moment. I was also scared I would offend Astrid because Stormfly was paralyzed. Astrid didn't have her dragon for protection, but Toothless apparently did just fine for now.

As soon as Astrid let me go, Toothless leaned toward her and licked her on the side of her face with a low murmur.

She gently pushed him away and said, "Do that to Hiccup." She used her coat sleeve to wipe Night Fury saliva off herself.

I caught her eye and couldn't hold back my smile. She smiled back at me. Neither of us could keep from giggling.

"What?" she asked, the echo bringing her word back to me several times.

"Nothing," I replied, continuing to laugh. I tried to keep it generally quiet because I felt uncomfortable hearing so much echo in the great hall.

I looked down slightly, trying to let that fit of laughter subside. After a few seconds, I returned to stroking Toothless' neck. Toothless leaned into my hand, murmuring in appreciation.

In the back of my mind, I knew I had to do something about the Speed Stingers soon. I wondered if I could take advantage of them possibly being asleep at the moment.

I committed to my idea and stood, my hips and knees creaking from being on the floor for a while. Toothless grunted softly at me.

Without asking for Astrid's approval, I stated, "I wanna find where the Speed Stingers have gone."

"Now?"

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. Why not?"

"Hiccup, they could be anywhere. They're probably hiding in some cave on the island."

"I don't want to scour the island," I told her. "It's too cold for that. I just want to check for any traces of the Speed Stingers. Maybe I'll find something." I paused, hoping my sense of reason was actually heading somewhere. "Maybe there's a way to cut them off from the village."

Astrid thought for a moment and replied, "I'm coming with you."

She stood and acted like she was walking past me. At the last second, she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the cheek. Astrid grinned as she let me go, looking back at me as she sauntered toward the front entrance of the great hall.

Toothless grunted and pushed me from behind. I stumbled slightly, trying to catch my balance and then started to walk forward.

Astrid pulled one of the doors open, revealing a black sky with no stars. All the still-inhabited houses on Berk were lit from inside by their hearths, casting an odd yellow glow around the snow-covered village. Several footprints were briefly visible in the dancing light, some Viking, some Night Fury, and some Speed Stinger.

I walked outside and shivered from the cold. Thankfully, there was only a slight wind blowing now, which made it just a little more tolerable. There was no snow falling from the clouds above us. Maybe, just maybe, tracks would be findable.

Through the darkness, I spied the outline of the armory and said, "Armory first, then we'll take a look."

I got on Toothless' back and had him follow Astrid toward the armory. She opened the door for us to enter. Adjusting to the low light, I quickly found an iron-rimmed shield I had made this past summer. On the center was a silhouette of a stylistic Night Fury, a left red tail fin complementing the natural black fin on the right.

I reached down to pick the shield up, but when my hand touched the metal, I jerked it back. The metal was unbelievably cold. I groaned, forcing myself to endure a few seconds of chilled metal on my skin and picked up the shield. I wrestled with it for a few seconds, trying to get my coat sleeve between my arm and the handle. When I had some free time, I was going to wrap the handle in leather to keep it from being so agonizingly cold.

I turned to Astrid and said, "Get whatever you need."

Astrid picked up a nondescript wooden shield, a small dagger and a bola. Just like me, she flinched as the metal contacted her hands. She tucked the dagger into her belt.

"Okay. I'm ready," she stated.

I nodded to her, still reeling from the shock of touching the metal, and walked over to Toothless.

"Ready, bud?" I asked him.

I guided Toothless out of the armory, Astrid behind us, and hopped onto his back. I took the plate off the bottom of my peg and stowed it in the satchel at my waist.

As I glanced at the armory wall, a leather strap with small metal hooks on either end caught my attention. This would have been amazingly convenient to have in the armory a few seconds ago. I hooked the strap on either side of my shield and looped it diagonally across my chest.

"You coming, Astrid?" I asked her.

She nodded. I held my hand out for her, giving her a slightly easier time getting onto Toothless' back.

She got situated, wrapped her arms around my chest and immediately let go.

"The metal's too cold," she observed.

"Just hang on to the leather," I told her. A second later, I felt the strap tighten against my chest.

"Okay. That's much better," she said.

I nodded and clicked into the stirrup with my peg.

"Let's go, bud," I said to Toothless. He grunted in approval before crouching slightly. Toothless jumped into the air and lifted off, creating a brief shower of white around the entrance to the armory. Within a few seconds, we were flying away from the village.


	16. Chapter 16

The air stung my face and brought tears to my eyes as Toothless soared over the island. We were flying over the outskirts of the village, where I knew on the lower part of the coastline was a network of naturally-formed caves.

"I can't see anything!" Astrid shouted over the rushing wind.

I didn't reply for a few seconds, thinking about where a logical place might be to start looking. Most likely, the Speed Stingers would have been taking shelter somewhere that was hidden, but easy for them to access. It was probably the first place they happened upon from the ice bridge, so I figured the coastline was a logical choice. They needed a route to get to a food source, so a way to get from the coast to the village was a requirement, such as the ramps leading from the village to the docks.

"C'mon, Hiccup! Can't you hear me?" she shouted.

I turned slightly toward her, just barely able to see her blurry form out of the corner of my eye.

"Any suggestions on where to start?" I asked. I was going to go with Astrid's opinion, just in case she had an idea that was different than mine.

"I have no idea," she replied.

I turned forward again, hiding a scowl, and nudged Toothless gently with my right knee. He straightened out his flight. I gently rolled toe-down and pushed down on Toothless' saddle, starting him into a shallow dive. I leaned to my right to let Toothless spiral down toward the coastline. The last thing I needed was to throw her off with some aerial antics. I kept the spiral loose, letting Astrid and Toothless adjust to where I wanted to go instead of surprising them.

We crossed over the rocky wall guarding the island of Berk. Below us, just barely coming into view, was the coastline. Underneath the snow cover, it was rocky and difficult to walk on. Moving toward the ocean, the snow line abruptly stopped, indicating where the tide peaked each day.

I blinked several times, feeling tears freeze on my cheeks. On a whim, I tried squinting, which helped prevent any more tears, but the world around me suddenly looked a little darker.

I rolled slightly toe-up to help Toothless slow down once I was able to notice small details in the coastline. Most telling were the gentle bumps in the snowscape, indicating small stones that were sticking out from the rest of the land.

I was looking mainly toward the rocky wall to our left when Astrid shoved me in the shoulder. Before I could say anything, her hand shot into my view and pointed forward.

Maybe a hundred feet away was a small area of snow that didn't look fresh. In the low light, I couldn't tell what gave it a different texture than the rest of the coastline. But it was obvious something had given it that texture after it fell. I nodded without turning back to Astrid, telling her I had seen what she pointed out.

I rolled toe-up to let Toothless slow for a landing. He contorted his back slightly and landed with his front feet, followed by his back feet.

As the snow settled back to the ground, I noticed the different texture was only limited to a swath about twenty feet wide. On either side, the snow was a pristine white. But in the middle, it was much darker. There were several stones from the coastline that had been disturbed, lying on top of the snow without any white cover.

I latched the plate onto the bottom of my peg and dismounted from Toothless' back. As I crept closer to that area in front of us, I noticed several three-toed footprints on the edges, obviously made by something that was running. And it looked like whatever made those footprints had vicious claws on its feet.

I turned back to Astrid and said, "I think this is it."

She nodded in agreement. Everything was silent for a while except for the crashing of the surf.

Astrid sidled up to me and asked in a whisper, "Are those docks the only way to get to the village from here?"

"I _think_ so," I replied and turned to examine the rock wall where the tracks were leading.

As I peered into the darkness, Astrid nudged me in the shoulder and whispered, "Wh-what are you doing!?"

It didn't take long for me to give up. I couldn't see what the tracks led to, although I had a pretty good guess about what it might have been.

"This has gotta be where the Speed Stingers are," I whispered.

"That's great," Astrid replied immediately. "Let's tear a hole in the docks and go home."

I almost said it. I was a split second away from agreeing with Astrid when a quiet, nagging doubt snagged a piece of my attention.

"Oh. I, uh... I don't know if we can simply tear out some of the docks."

"Hiccup, why are you second-guessing yourself? We don't have any time to waste!"

"I know," I said. "But do we know these caves really don't connect to anywhere else on the island? And are there any areas on the coast where the cliffs are smaller?"

Astrid thought for a few seconds. In the almost-nonexistent light, I saw a look of realization creep across her face.

"There's at least one cave," she whispered with resonance.

"Nobody's really explored all these caves yet," I pointed out.

We had tried several times, but mapping the labyrinth beneath our island was nearly hopeless. It didn't help that several passages had unpredictable water currents that weren't connected to the tides.

"All right. I'm out of ideas," Astrid said after a long silence. "I hope you have one."

This was one of those times when I wished reality wouldn't ruin everything. But the Speed Stingers would have found another way into Berk, even if Astrid and I did blow out a section of the docks.

I sighed, knowing we had one alternative left if our current idea failed. I mulled it over in my mind for a few seconds, hoping I could come up with something else. _Anything_ else. But I couldn't.

"If blowing a hole in the docks doesn't work, we've gotta get the lead dragon away from here," I whispered.

"What do you mean 'away from here?'" Astrid asked.

"Wherever the ice sheet goes," I replied, glancing in that general direction. "Not only that, we've also gotta give those dragons a reason to stay away from Berk."

"Using Toothless?"

"Toothless will just kill the dragon," I replied. A deaf person would have noticed the tone in my voice didn't support Astrid's suggestion.

After a short moment, Astrid whispered, "You're still Chief here, you know."

"That's all you've got!?" I whispered. It was exceedingly difficult to keep my voice down. If our little discussion continued, every single one of those Speed Stingers would wake up and attack without warning. "What are you getting at?"

"Hiccup, you have __people and dragons__ to protect," Astrid said. "Don't you think 'being nice' is putting everyone in Berk at risk?"

"What am I supposed to do!? Go ahead, tell me! Since you know _so_ much more about 'how to be a chief!'"

A snarl came from the rock wall next to us. I blanched, feeling my lips turn white. I was pretty sure Astrid had the same reaction because both of us turned simultaneously toward the sound. We weren't just staring at a rock wall anymore. I knew it was a cave based on how that snarl echoed. And it sounded a lot like a Speed Stinger.

Astrid and I waited for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of us moved or breathed, but it didn't matter anyway. My heart was slamming so hard in my chest I could hear it. I was generally certain that dragons could hear things like that from a distance.

A low, soft grunt from behind me shattered the silence. Astrid jumped and clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a scream. I whirled around, yanking the shield away from my back to face whatever it was. A few seconds later, I heard a dragon exhale, sounding like the bellows I used in the forge, and a plume of steam met my shield. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it was Toothless.

I lowered my shield, my heart still racing, and reached a hand out to where I thought Toothless was. I heard another grunt, and soon after, there was a gentle pressure on the inside of my left hand. Toothless was rubbing against my hand, telling me where he was. I stroked toward his back, feeling an ear flap. Toothless leaned a little more weight into my hand, but it didn't feel like he was asking for more attention.

A second later, I could just barely make out his yellow-green eyes. They disappeared, and I felt Toothless nudge into my left shoulder with a quiet rumble. I stood there for a moment, letting Toothless work his magic. Maybe he could give me a better idea of what to do with the Speed Stingers too.

It didn't take long for Toothless to come up with an idea. He sidled past me on my right side, which was also facing the rock wall guarding Berk from the ocean. Toothless nudged me gently with his head away from the rock wall.

_This doesn't fix anything_ , I thought. _He's just telling me to leave._

It was just procrastination. It was another day of being locked into our houses with barely anything to eat or drink. It was another day of wondering how many people were petrified. It was another day of worrying whether everyone else was still alive.

"Toothless, what are you doing?" I whispered to him as he continued gently pushing me toward the ocean.

Astrid shuffled toward us and asked, "Wh-what's going on?"

I was about to tell her I had no idea, but stopped myself. Toothless had pushed himself between me and the cave housing the Speed Stingers. He was trying to tell me something.

_Maybe he's aware of something I'm not_ , I thought.

Maybe he had a reason for getting between me and the Speed Stingers.

Against my better judgment, I decided to test whether Toothless was onto something. I took a long step to my right, trying to get around Toothless. Once I left his side, he grunted and put himself between me and the cave again and began nudging me away once more.

"Hiccup?" Astrid whispered. Her tone of voice told me she wanted an answer to her question.

"I... uh... I think Toothless wants me away from here," I said.

Astrid huffed in frustration. "Why are you letting your dragon make this decision?"

Before I could answer, Toothless grunted again, this time a little more urgently.

I brought my head close to his and whispered, "I hope you're right about this, buddy."

Toothless blinked in response, signaling he knew I was talking to him.

I turned to Astrid and said, "Toothless probably knows something we don't."

"What if he doesn't care about the Speed Stingers? Don't you think Toothless might not care about getting rid of them?"

"I don't know. But I think Toothless is trying to tell us we shouldn't be here for some reason."

Astrid grunted in surprise. "Hiccup, why is Toothless biting me?"

I glanced in her direction, just barely able to see her.

"He's... he's not," I stuttered, wondering for a moment what she was thinking. "I'm looking directly at Toothless right n–"

I stopped. A sickening wave crashed into my gut when I realized what had probably happened.

Toothless' eyes disappeared just before he roared in alarm. Without warning, he shot a blue fireball that missed Astrid's right arm by about a foot. It exploded with a hollow _bang_ just behind her. Astrid grimaced and immediately staggered forward, her hands clumsily reaching for her ears.

In the brief light of the fireball, I saw one Speed Stinger lift off its feet and fly backwards, and two others just to its right glaring at us. As darkness crashed over us again, a high-pitched shriek and a sickening _thud_ came from the Speed Stinger colliding with the rock wall. It was probably dead, but I wasn't planning on finding out any time soon. From inside the cave, several shrill roars echoed in a cacophony of noise.

"Astrid, come on!" I shouted. I ripped the plate off my peg, and it quickly slipped from my hands. I didn't crouch to look for it. Our cover had probably been blown for a few minutes at the very least. Those Speed Stingers were inches away from gutting us. Astrid was about to be paralyzed, and there was a good chance Toothless was as well. Once again, I realized too late what Toothless was trying to tell me.

I saw Astrid's faint outline as she lunged in my direction. A pair of hands connected with my left shoulder and chest. I quickly grabbed onto Astrid's wrists and pulled her behind me. She kept one of her hands on my shoulders as we jumped onto Toothless' back.

I felt around for the stirrup with my peg and shouted, "TOOTHLESS! GO!"

My hands let go of Astrid and grabbed onto the handles at the front of Toothless' saddle as he took off running. As I felt the stirrup with my peg, I jammed into it, unsure of whether there was ice buildup. But with Speed Stingers this close, I wasn't going to take any chances. I rolled my peg around experimentally, feeling the stirrup respond through my knee. Toothless must have noticed too and took off, veering away from the village. The air chilled further as we picked up speed.

_No, toward home_ , I thought. _Not over the ocean_.

But then I realized Toothless was circling over the ocean because he knew the Speed Stingers couldn't do anything about it. Toothless pulled into a wide bank, bringing the lanterns dotting the village back into view.

The Speed Stingers collectively screeched in frustration as we flew over the rock wall guarding the village from the coast. We soon crossed over town, and about ten seconds later, I spotted Johann and Gobber trudging through the snow toward my house, where Stormfly, Thornado, and my dad were probably still petrified. Soon, Astrid was going to be the next entry on that list.

Gobber was the first to turn back toward us. "There you are!" he shouted. "What were you two doing all this time!?"

Toothless landed five feet away from him, panting slightly. I dismounted, but Astrid stayed on his back. Her eyes had taken on a slightly glassy, unfocused look.

"No time to explain! Just get inside!" I shouted back.

Without giving Gobber or Johann any time to respond, I began half-sprinting, half-hopping through the snow. Toothless followed in a slow gallop, Astrid somehow barely staying on his back. Her head looked like it was loosely connected to her neck, and her shoulders were bouncing haphazardly with each of Toothless' steps.

"What happened to Astrid!?" he shouted.

"Just get inside!" I repeated. I lunged toward the door and slammed it open. A shrill roar came from the direction of the plaza. Within a few seconds, faint silhouettes of the Speed Stingers appeared as they sprinted in our direction.

Toothless jumped his way into the house, Astrid still on his back. Gobber yelped in panic and dove inside, followed by Johann, who still had a noticeable limp. I slammed the door shut and latched it.

"Check the back door, make sure it's locked!" I shouted to no one in particular.

A cacophony of grunts, shrieks, and clicks filled the house. I couldn't tell where they were coming from, and I hoped either Gobber or Johann was fast enough to reach the back entrance before the Speed Stingers did.

I glanced around as I took gasping breaths, noticing my dad, Stormfly, and Thornado were still motionless, exactly as I had last seen them.

About three seconds later, Johann announced, "It's latched, Baster Hiccub."

I turned to Astrid and put a hand on her side. She barely moved in a feeble effort to look at me. Her skin was slowly turning blue, and her lips and fingernails were almost purple.

I caught Astrid under her arms as she slid unceremoniously off Toothless' back and lifted her just enough to help her to a standing position. I began walking her toward our table, but after a couple steps, the toe of her right boot caught the floor. My grip tightened under her arms as she slumped. Her feet kicked ineffectually as her legs continued moving in a feeble walking pattern.

I felt her spasming motions through her arms and chest, the Speed Stinger venom taking a stranglehold over her muscles. Her chest and throat were audibly hitching as she slowly lost control of her breathing.

Astrid's hips, legs and feet wouldn't bend into a sitting position, so I slowly laid her on her front, her head turned to the right. She twitched a few times, her eyes unblinking and staring through the wall. After a few seconds, she stopped moving.


	17. Chapter 17

_This is not happening._

_This can't be happening._

I had no idea how long I was standing rooted to one spot. Time was frozen, just like Astrid. Just like my dad. Just like Thornado. Just like Stormfly. I thought it was difficult to pry my eyes away from Fishlegs when he froze, but taking my attention away from Astrid was impossible.

She had stopped moving immediately after I got her on her side. As if to add insult to injury, she was seemingly staring in my direction, like it was a reminder of what I caused. Her eyes were what burned into my mind the most. Even if time faded everything, I knew I'd still be able to picture her eyes, hollow, unfocused and unmoving.

I wondered what would happen next. I had to take care of Astrid and somehow get these dragons out of Berk. Whatever the outcome, I knew one thing for certain – I was responsible for what happened to Astrid. I dragged her along, hoping to find a trace of the Speed Stingers. Maybe through serendipity, I'd figure out how to get them away from Berk. But instead, I returned with a petrified Astrid and nothing else to show for it.

Gods, why did I have to be so stupid? Why didn't I just do something that might've actually helped Berk, like helping Gobber move frozen Vikings to the great hall? Why did I have to choose something that would make me look like a hero?

Going to look for the Speed Stingers in the dark was suicide. Even Toothless knew that, and he tried to warn me about it. But I waited too long, and by then, Astrid was already in trouble.

A gentle nudge on my right side shoved me out of my reverie. My staring contest with Astrid was quickly broken as I stumbled to my left with a sharp gasp. After a couple of panicked steps, I regained my balance and glanced at what had pushed me.

Toothless was sitting on all fours with a hunched posture. He had his head down and was looking up at me. He gave a soft moan. It had a plaintive tone, like he was ashamed of what happened to Astrid and was apologizing to me for it.

Toothless didn't need to be this selfless. He tried to protect me and Astrid out there on the coast. He stayed with us even though he knew it was foolhardy to be out there. He brought us back home. If anything, I should have been the one apologizing to him. I could have avoided all of what happened in the last few minutes by simply heading back home from the great hall.

"Hiccup," a voice said. Whoever it was, it sounded like he was a mile away.

I didn't respond.

"Look at me, Hiccup," the voice said.

It sounded like Gobber. I didn't turn toward him, only keeping my focus on Toothless. Haltingly, I stepped toward him.

Toothless kept the same expression without moving. As I approached him, I didn't even offer my hand to him. I was about two feet away when I finally heard him breathing.

I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and rocked forward. Toothless whuffed slightly as he held onto my weight. Tears escaped my eyes as I buried my face into the side of his neck.

_Toothless, I'm sorry_ , I thought. I tried to say it but couldn't form the words.

"Hiccup," Gobber tried again. I ignored him and continued silently holding onto Toothless.

Gobber sighed and tried anyway. "I know you're trying your best."

Slowly, I pulled away from Toothless. "Best? Like I'm gonna get some award for letting everyone in Berk die? But it's okay because _I tried my best_ _."_ I slurred those last four words, mocking Gobber.

"Hiccup," he said with a deep breath. "Just listen."

I kept my mouth shut, unable to muster the energy to counter every little thing Gobber said to me.

"Forget about being Chief for a moment," he said. "People will take care of themselves. We've moved everyone who's paralyzed somewhere safe. But how do you think you can get rid of these Speed Stingers?"

I sighed and resigned myself to playing his little game. "After making sure everyone is safe?" I asked, completely ignoring what he had told me only seconds ago.

"I said to forget about being Chief," Gobber repeated. "It's just you and Toothless. That's all you have to worry about. Now, how are you gonna get these dragons out of here?"

_This is getting old,_ I thought.

You could ask that question a thousand different ways, but in the end, it was always the same question: How do I get the Speed Stingers out of Berk?

A few seconds of silence found their way between us. After a while, I slumped on the floor. I could stand and act like I was paying some attention to Gobber, or I could sit and think. But I couldn't stand _and_ think at the current moment.

As I sat down inelegantly, I felt a support at my back. Toothless was there. But I didn't feel protected this time, probably because of my stupidity.

I sighed and looked at the floor. "I... I guess... somehow... get rid of the lead dragon," I said quietly after a long silence.

"All right," Gobber mused. "How?"

"Why does everyone assume I have all the answers!?" I shouted at him. "I don't know!"

"Hiccup, you don't need to know everything," Gobber said calmly.

"No, obviously not," I said curtly, rising to my feet. "But if I knew how to get the lead dragon out of here, don't you think I would've already done it?"

Before either of us could say anything, Toothless grunted and snaked his way around to my front, putting himself between Gobber and me. He looked me in the eyes with an unwavering gaze, like he was telling me to stop before I lost my temper for the umpteenth time in the last two days.

It was everything I could do to keep from shoving Toothless away from myself. I was already mad enough at my inability to do anything right today, and Toothless' interruption just seemed like the perfect ending statement to my futility.

Toothless didn't give me a chance to do anything after he locked eyes with me. He closed his eyes and leaned forward slightly with a low rumble. He pressed his snout gently into my chest, placing his trust in me. Toothless trusted me not to hurt him, even though he knew I was a split-second away from snapping.

I wished I could forget about problems as easily as Toothless did. Or maybe he didn't forget about Astrid, my dad, Stormfly, or Thornado. Toothless was smart enough to be aware of them. Maybe he was telling me what was important to _him_. I was still able to move. He could still take care of me.

The alternating _pat-clunk_ of Gobber's footsteps filled the house. After a few seconds, he sat down at our table and waited. As blunt and awkward as he typically was, he certainly showed a lot of grace tonight.

Most of the time, Gobber would have simply belittled me while I shouted at him. But now, I felt like a different Gobber was in the house with me. He was simply waiting for me to get my senses back. He was waiting like there was no hurry.

I slowly shuffled backwards, toward the table where Gobber was sitting. Using the last tiny shred of self-control I had left, I painstakingly placed my right hand on Toothless' snout. He opened his eyes and followed me as I sat down. My hand slid off his snout after a second because I felt like I had nothing left, except for Toothless.

I slumped in the chair from the weight of the world crashing onto my back and sighed. All I could think about was how embarrassingly bad of a job I had done as Chief in the last two days. That was all it took for Berk to spiral out of control.

Gobber finally broke his silence and announced, "All right, Hiccup. When I come back, I want two things from you." He paused, presumably waiting for me. I kept my head down, but I was listening to him.

"Hiccup, are you going to look at me anytime soon?" he asked.

I slowly craned my neck, my eyes barely meeting his.

"I want you in a better mood, and I want a plan from you on how to get the lead Speed Stinger out of here." He paused with an expression like he was going to say something else. "And I don't care how crazy or dumb you think it is."

Without waiting for my consent, he turned, opened the door and walked out. The door closed behind him, and silence filled the air in the house.

I sighed again as I turned my gaze back toward the floor between me and Toothless. He moaned quietly. To me, it seemed he was asking if I was all right.

_Not anytime soon,_ I thought.

I had my elbows resting on my knees, and my hands were hanging freely in the air. I watched impassively as Toothless pressed his head under my left hand. He gently pushed his way between my arms and stopped with his head inches away from my face. He gave that same moan again before slowly rubbing his head into my chin.

"I know, bud," I said quietly to him. "I'm sorry too."

I held onto both sides of his head with my hands, centering his gaze on me.

"Can you help me?" I asked him. There were no more ideas I had on how to get the Speed Stingers out of Berk.

I wasn't sure what Toothless was suggesting because I couldn't speak Night Fury. He simply sat there for a moment, letting me hold onto him. Eventually, he sat back on his haunches and looked at me with a concerned expression on his face.

Maybe he was telling me not to worry so much. For a moment, I wondered if he thought everything would be okay. Or was he simply being hopelessly optimistic?

Either way, I couldn't take his stare anymore. I stood and shuffled over to my dad's bed, which wasn't too far away from the table and dragged a blanket back into the main living area of the house. I laid the blanket over Astrid to help her keep warm, avoiding looking at her eyes the entire time.

I glanced at the fire at the hearth. It was burning strongly, so Gobber had probably refreshed it within the last couple hours.

Looking around the house, I tried to find any other little tasks I could stay occupied with, but nothing caught my attention. For what it was worth, checking the fire and covering Astrid felt like they were the only ways I actually helped someone today.

I returned to Toothless and sat down on the floor near him, waiting for him to move. It didn't take long for Toothless to wrap his body loosely around my back with a low, quiet groan. I relaxed somewhat as I leaned against his side and closed my eyes.

I knew I didn't have anything that resembled a plan of action for the Speed Stingers, but I was too exhausted to think anymore. All I wanted to do was rest and watch over Astrid, Stormfly, my dad, and Thornado.

Toothless rumbled gently, his vibrations massaging my back slightly. He was here, and he was saying he was going to take care of me. Most importantly, I felt protected.


	18. Chapter 18

A low groan woke me up. I felt like I had just barely gotten to sleep when Toothless disturbed me. Groggily, I sat up, stifling a yawn and looked around the house.

Astrid, my dad, and their dragons were still here, still in the same positions as when I last saw them. Gobber was sitting down at the table.

"Oh, good! You're awake," he said. It sounded like he had a touch of sarcasm behind his voice.

"Mm. Not really," I mumbled.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"Plan?"

"You never came up with one?" he probed.

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he was asking. I knew Gobber was complaining about my mood when he left me and Toothless here. And... something else. Oh, he also wanted me to think of a way to get rid of the Speed Stingers, or at least the lead dragon.

I never thought of one. I was too exhausted to do anything except fall asleep.

"No, I didn't," I finally told him.

Gobber rolled his eyes in irritation but didn't say anything.

"Look, every time I've tried to do something about the Speed Stingers, someone's gotten petrified," I said impatiently, motioning in the general direction of my dad and Astrid.

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard," Gobber replied without missing a beat.

"Oh, yeah," I said sardonically. " _Especially_ when I'm around."

"Hiccup, I'm getting tired of listening to you complain."

"Because nobody is helping me!" I shouted at him. "Why am I the only person here who's supposed to think of a plan and carry it out?"

I paused for a second, waiting for Gobber's answer. He didn't reply. I crossed my arms and glared at the floor.

"Might as well just kill the lead dragon and get it over with," I mumbled.

"Great!" he pounced. "How are you gonna get ready for it?"

"For what?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"You said you wanted to kill the lead dragon. So... what are you waiting for?"

I looked at Gobber and said, "I can barely live with myself after what happened with the Speed Stinger out there." I pointed through the wall in the general direction of where I... never mind.

"Do you seriously expect me to hunt that dragon down and kill it in cold blood?" I continued

"Well, yeah," Gobber replied with a shrug. "How else are you gonna kill it?"

"What about this?" I asked, hoping he'd forget about my sarcastic comment on killing the lead Speed Stinger a few seconds ago. "What if I catch it and use Toothless to fly it somewhere other than here?"

"Sure. You can do that too," he responded.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, yes. You can get those dragons out of here however you like, Hiccup."

"And you have nothing to add..." I prompted, letting the moment hang.

"I like the killing idea more," he said quickly. "But when you decide to try something, just forget about everyone else."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. It sounded like he decided to change the subject on a whim.

"You're spending too much time worrying about someone getting hurt. When you go out there, it's just you and Toothless. That's it."

"Great. I'm Berk's only hope for this. No pressure, Hiccup," I said to myself.

"Hiccup, you killed the Red Death two years ago, and you acted like you were the only Viking who could do it. You didn't even give it a second thought when you took that dragon on," Gobber pointed out.

I looked at Gobber with a confused, twisted face. "I don't think about it? About _this_ _?"_ I motioned toward my peg with an open left hand.

"All right. Fine," he said. "That's not what I'm trying to tell you. I'm saying you've done things Vikings have only dreamed about for the last three hundred years. I _know_ you can get the Speed Stingers out of Berk. But the question is do _you_ think you can do it?"

I was silent, completely unable to open my mouth. I knew the correct answer was "yes." But I couldn't bring myself to say it, especially considering the job I had done protecting Vikings and dragons in Berk.

"I know what you want to say, Hiccup," Gobber told me. "But I'm gonna let you decide on your own."

He paused for a moment.

"I just want you to know that I trust you. And so does Toothless." Gobber motioned slightly toward Toothless with his prosthetic hook.

I glanced behind myself and found Toothless lying curled on the floor with his head raised, looking at me. He had on one of his expressions that stared directly into my soul.

I felt that connection between us again. It was the same connection from that evening when we first touched. It was the same feeling when I woke up after the battle with the Red Death, missing part of my left leg, and Toothless was there to help me stand again.

I took a deep breath and returned my gaze back toward Gobber. I thought I was crazy for doing this, for putting someone else in danger. But I couldn't simply avoid trying to get the Speed Stingers out of Berk. Some misplaced sense of pride told me I'd go down in history as our worst Chief if I did. I didn't want to be remembered that way.

I groaned quietly as I stood, moving like I was a hundred years old. I took three steps to my left and picked up my shield, slinging it over my shoulder and turned toward Gobber.

"I'm ready," I told him.


	19. Chapter 19

I closed the door behind Toothless and myself as we walked out. Dawn had just broken, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. There was just enough light to see shadows, which only accentuated the three-toed footprints in the snow surrounding my house. It was easy to see the direction the Speed Stingers came and went. But around the house, it was a chaotic mess. In some places, it was difficult to tell where one print ended and another began.

Looking around the village, several houses had wooden shards spread haphazardly around them. I counted three of them with doors caved in, completely open to the cold. There were no fires dancing in the hearths. There was no sign of movement inside those houses. I could only hope those Vikings had found shelter somewhere else. Maybe someone was kind enough to share a living space with them.

The entire village felt like it had been abandoned overnight. The silence hung almost palpably in the air, adding to the bleak feeling surrounding me.

I had done a terrible job as Chief. It took me way too long to realize feeling sorry for myself would never fix any problems. If I could somehow get these dragons out of the village, maybe I could atone for these last few days.

I took a deep breath, the cold air stinging my nose, throat, and lungs, and fixed my gaze on the armory across the plaza from us. That was my first stop.

But there were more pressing issues at the moment. I climbed onto Toothless' back and hooked in with my peg. Without waiting, he jumped, getting air underneath us.

Toothless almost immediately started to pump his wings harder, trying to gain altitude as quickly as he could. I let him. He could do what he wanted for the majority of the flight, but after a while, I planned on taking control and heading to the armory.

We flew around Berk for a while. Toothless seemed to be enjoying the exercise, but my mind wasn't thinking about what an exhilarating flight this was. I had a hundred different thoughts running around in my head, and only one of them was about flying. Needless to say, it quickly got lost in the jumble of other thoughts floating around.

I was mainly thinking about how I was going to lure the lead dragon into some kind of trap. I figured the Speed Stingers' main goal was to secure food, which I hoped hadn't really happened yet. They couldn't access our food stores because we kept them tightly locked. The families who were raided probably had a much smaller supply of food in their houses, so the dragons would run out soon anyway.

If that was the case, then I wondered what might happen if I put out some bait. If I got a fish or chicken and put it in the middle of town, how would the Speed Stingers respond to it?

A low _whoosh_ on my left surprised me slightly. It was a rock spire, which told me we were over the ocean. Looking down, I saw a few chunks of white ice floating on a dark blue glassy surface.

I quickly retreated back into my thoughtscape, wondering where I had left off. Something about food stores... Oh, yes. Bait.

There were probably two outcomes to putting out bait. Either the first Speed Stinger that wandered by would simply gobble it up, or the underlings would let the lead dragon know so it could have the first bite.

I wondered how I could play this little ruse to get the lead dragon into the open. The Speed Stingers were already elusive enough, and aiming for one of them in particular was seemingly impossible. But if I could somehow ensnare that lead dragon, I could use Toothless to transport it away from Berk.

Maybe I could throw out free scraps for the Speed Stingers to find. That way, they'd figure out they had a source of food around. The lead dragon would definitely show up quickly if that happened. From there, I could wrap a large chunk of meat or fish in rope and lure the lead dragon toward a trap.

A faint hitch jumped through my legs, bringing my attention to Toothless. He was beginning to tire, his breaths getting deeper and more laborious. I nudged him gently with my right knee, and he began soaring. Luckily, we were over the outskirts of the forest, where Toothless didn't have to actively pump his wings to reach the armory.

A quick glance around the island showed no sign of any Speed Stingers.

I rolled toe-down to let Toothless dive slightly. He angled downward, and at the last minute, I flipped to toe-up, where he hovered for a beat and then set down gently. I hopped off his back and nearly fell face-first into the snow. I still didn't have a plate for my peg, which made my left leg sink dangerously quickly into the snow drift. I yanked my peg out of the snow and hopped toward the door leading into the armory. Toothless bounded inside as I pulled the door open. As I closed the door behind us, I heard Toothless panting sharply, sounding like the bellows that wasn't far from me.

It was nearly dark inside the armory. The front vista was shuttered, and the only light that filtered into this area was from the smokestack. Below the opening to the smokestack was a large collection of black and brown slush. This seemed to happen every winter, but we always made it a point to clean the armory and forge at the end every day.

Through the darkness, my eyes settled on a loose piece of wood about a foot in length, nearly covered by the slush. I pulled it out and held the tip of the wood in front of Toothless' snout. I could barely see him, but I heard a low groan come from him, like he was thinking.

About a second later, a bright white flame shot out of his mouth. The wood vibrated gently in my hand as Toothless' flame hit the tip. Toothless stopped after about two seconds, and the torch continued burning with a slight crackle, illuminating everything in the armory with a jumping yellow light. I lit both candles on either side of the junction between the armory and forge and then extinguished the torch using the slush that conveniently hadn't been swept out of here yet.

"Thanks, Toothless," I whispered to him, stroking his cheek. He murmured quietly and leaned into my hand. I took my hand away from his cheek and placed my palm gently on his snout.

"Wait here, okay?" I said, looking into his eyes.

I began looking around the armory for the supplies I needed. My eyes quickly settled on the many casting nets we had hanging on a far wall. I remembered I had made a casting net about twenty feet in diameter this past summer to help Mulch and Bucket with their fishing duties. They might not have been smart, but they were diligent enough to bring it back every day.

Twenty feet seemed like a good size to catch the lead Speed Stinger. The one time I saw it, I thought the lead dragon was at most two feet taller than me. I grabbed the largest net we had on the wall and put it on the ground near Toothless. The net was reinforced with thick strands of rope every few inches to keep a large fish from ripping through it. Toothless sniffed at it for a few seconds, probably interested by its fishy smell.

On the back wall were several lengths of sturdy rope. I grabbed a basket and sifted through the rope, looking for the longest sections. Three of them, each about twenty feet long, went into the basket, along with the casting net. I also holstered a knife in my belt and then began looking for my shield. After a few glances around the armory, I realized it was still on my back. In all of my preoccupation, I had completely forgotten about it.

I thought through my plan one last time. I'd lure the Speed Stingers to a spot with pieces of meat or fish, then keep a large chunk of food just out of their reach to entice the lead dragon. The dragon would stop on top of the casting net to finally eat the bait, and I'd close it by yanking on two long ropes. Toothless and I could transport the lead dragon with its followers close behind to an island not named Berk, and we could probably handle any stragglers that would invariably get left in the village.

Foolproof, right?

Yeah, whatever.

So much could go wrong with this plan. But what choice did I have? I had to do _something_. People were counting on me, even though I still felt like I had let all of Berk down in this little foray as Chief.

I hooked the basket with all of its rope onto Toothless' saddle. I had a plan, but I didn't feel committed to it.

Toothless grunted in curiosity as the basket settled on his saddle. He looked at me, his expression saying he was ready for a meal. But I just couldn't bring myself to say anything to him or show him any affection.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, a long-lived plume of steam exiting my mouth. I blew out both candles in the forge and led Toothless out the back way, just in case the Speed Stingers were running around.

Toothless slowly lumbered his way out of the forge. He was awfully calm, considering what I was feeling inside. I tried to follow his example and relax.

"C'mon, bud," I said to him, trying to make it sound like I truly cared about him.

"Let's get something to eat."

Toothless jumped and began hovering, waiting for me to take the lead. I nudged him with my right knee and began directing him toward the great hall. As Toothless gained altitude, I saw a brief flash of green dart across the snow. I knew we had to be both quick and careful to avoid becoming statues.

The front entrance to the great hall seemed to be void of Speed Stingers, but there had to be at least a couple of them floating around, just out of sight. The back entrance was where I was looking, because it was a little more inaccessible than the front.

I rolled toe-down slightly and said, "Let's go, Toothless."

I tried to make it sound urgent, but my preoccupation with what I wanted to do later wasn't letting me think about anything else at the moment. Toothless started into a dive, the cold air stinging my ears, eyes, and nose. We reached about twenty feet short of the back entrance when I quickly rolled toe-up to let Toothless hover. His momentum carried him the rest of the way toward the entrance.

I dismounted and heard two short, high-pitched grunts come from behind us, but I didn't look back. I wrenched the door open, and Toothless bounded inside. I followed just behind him and shut the door, the clanking sound echoing for a few seconds in the great hall.

Toothless grunted in anticipation as he saw a small pile of fish. I directed him toward a table before he got too excited. Quickly, I filled a basket with fish and brought it back to him.

Toothless was wriggling slightly, ready to eat, so I flipped the lid open. He stuck his face into the basket and grunted. He pulled a fish out and swallowed it whole, looking at me the entire time. We held eye contact for a few seconds, and then Toothless returned to his meal.

I sighed, not feeling any better about making sure Toothless was taken care of. Most of the time, I really took pride in looking after Toothless, like it gave me a sense of accomplishment.

I left Toothless, put a raw fish on a skewer, ambled over to the fire pit, and held the fish in the flames for what seemed like forever. Everything I did seemed like it was moving so slow it was almost going backwards.

Eventually, though, I confirmed that time moved forward because the fish started to show a blackened color. I pulled it out of the fire, examined it, and began eating in silence.

When I was about halfway done with my fish, a quiet, low croon came from behind me. It was Toothless. I glanced back and found his eyes staring at me. I turned back toward the fire pit in silence and continued eating. Toothless grunted a little more urgently and nudged me gently in my right arm, telling me to hurry. Either that, or he was trying to help me feel better.

"Mm. Hey, bud," I mumbled in disinterest. I stroked the top of his head a few times to let him know I was still somewhat coherent.

After a few minutes, I finished what was edible on my fish and tossed it into the fire, where it sizzled and popped before turning a crisp black. I stood, feeling like I had aged several years in the last few minutes.

I took the basket containing the ropes and net off Toothless' saddle, put about ten fish in it and hooked it back onto his saddle. Predictably, he craned his neck, trying to figure out how he was going to eat those fish too.

I rolled my eyes slightly, hoping Toothless would understand what I had in mind.

I tugged on Toothless' saddle and began walking toward the rear entrance of the great hall. Slowly, I cracked the door open just enough to check for any Speed Stingers nearby. I didn't see any dragons, so I pushed the door open, making it creak slightly.

"C'mon, bud," I whispered to Toothless.

He trotted out, and I closed the door behind his tail. I hopped onto his back and stowed my snow plate in the satchel I had at my waist. I hooked into the stirrup with my peg, and Toothless jumped.

I nudged Toothless with my right knee and directed him toward the roof of the great hall. He landed near the center of the roof.

After dismounting, I slowly walked toward the village. At the edge of the roof, almost all of Berk was in view. I was looking east, toward the plaza. Beyond the village was the forest, which looked beautiful from here. The fir trees were showing hints of dark green and brown through the dusting of snow covering them. A little toward the north was my house, which was probably still shelter for my dad, Astrid, and their dragons.

The serenity of this view was soon broken by a couple sharp clicks coming from below. Two Speed Stingers had stopped near the front entrance of the great hall and were staring up at me.

I looked back at Toothless, who was about ten feet behind me. He was craning his neck again, still trying to get into the fish basket. I walked over to him and unhooked it. Toothless grunted, slightly upset there were fish nearby he couldn't eat.

"Sorry, Toothless," I told him unemotionally. "Not for you."

I set the basket down near the edge of the roof and took a deep breath in a final attempt to commit to my plan. As I opened the lid, I noticed the casting net and ropes were neatly folded under the bait.


	20. Chapter 20

_You have got to be kidding me,_ I thought.

I couldn't even react. After all of my futility these past few days, I almost laughed. It was absolutely fitting that I had forgotten quite possibly the most important detail of this little plan.

I groaned for a second, wondering if I should simply toss the net out and hope the dragons wouldn't pay attention to it. After a moment, I decided to change this step. Maybe I could use the element of surprise by throwing the net over the lead dragon and hoisting up the ropes.

Cursing under my breath, I moved the basket near the edge of the roof and pulled out a fish, holding it for a beat so that the Speed Stingers could see what I had. I tossed the fish, where it landed in the snow with a muffled _thump_.

The two dragons on the ground immediately rushed to their left to claim the fish. One of them was just slightly faster and scooped the fish under its left foot. That dragon snapped at the other, telling it to back off. It began eating as the other watched.

Most dragons swallowed their food whole, as long as it fit into their mouths. But watching the Speed Stinger tear into the fish I dropped was simply gruesome. It seemed like that dragon wanted to savor its victory of being fast enough to get something to eat, like it was going to tell the whole world by mutilating the fish as it ate. After about ten seconds, hunks of fish meat and entrails were spread in a loose, two-foot semicircle around the dragon.

Even though it was gross watching this dragon eat, I quickly realized it was exactly what had to happen. I wanted this Speed Stinger to make a mess so that other dragons in its pack would smell the feast and investigate.

As if on cue, several Speed Stingers began appearing out of the woodwork around the village. I tossed another fish slightly behind the two dragons in front and watched as a mob assault on a single fish took place. Grunts, shrieks, clicks, and screeches merged into a cacophony of sounds. For a moment, I wondered how in the world such a large pack of dragons could survive like this.

I tossed another fish near the mob of Speed Stingers. Several of the dragons on the outside of the mob quickly gathered around this new morsel and began fighting each other over who was going to eat it.

It didn't take long for the first mob to join the second. Left standing in the open was a green-and-red striped dragon, which seemed to be simply watching the proceedings. The rest of the Speed Stingers didn't seem to care the lead dragon wasn't eating.

Pulling out a twenty-foot rope from the basket, I wrapped it around the next fish and dangled it about eight feet off the ground, where all the Speed Stingers could see it.

I stole a quick glance at Toothless, who was staring longingly at the basket in front of him. I rolled my eyes slightly as I tied the rope around my right ankle to free my hands.

I grabbed another fish and checked my inventory. This was going to be the fourth fish the dragons would eat, I had one tied up and dangling, and there were six left in the basket.

I heaved the fish toward the lead dragon to see what it would do. The fish landed about six feet to the lead dragon's right, away from the mob that was still fighting itself. The lead dragon's attention snapped toward the fish just as several of the other Speed Stingers noticed and began running full-tilt toward yet another reason to squabble.

The lead dragon lunged in front of the mob and snarled menacingly, telling the other dragons to back off. They did, and the lead dragon simply turned and began eating with the exact same attitude as the rest of the Speed Stingers, tearing gleefully into the fish.

To keep the rest of the dragons distracted, I threw another fish near the mob. I followed that with another fish that brought the lead dragon about halfway to the front entrance of the great hall. I waited for the lead dragon to finish before luring it closer with another fish, followed by one more fish toward the mob.

I checked my inventory again. There were two fish left in the basket and one tied on the rope.

At that point, the lead dragon spotted the fish I had strung up and rushed forward with abandon, hoping to get yet another meal. I stepped backward with my right leg and grabbed the rope, yanking upward to keep the fish just barely out of the dragon's reach. I knew if I brought it up too far, the dragon would lose interest and wander away.

I quickly turned toward the casting net I had nearby and picked it up, getting it ready to throw. I slowly crept toward the edge of the roof, letting the fish I had tied around my ankle tantalizingly approach the waiting Speed Stinger. The dragon cackled slightly as it watched the fish.

Without warning, the dragon jumped several feet in the air and clamped onto the fish and rope with its jaws. The rope squeezed around my ankle as I lost my balance from the dragon's weight and began sliding toward the edge of the roof. My hands let go of the casting net in panic, feeling around for something to grab. The ground was a good twenty feet below me, if not more.

In a last-ditch effort to keep myself from flying into oblivion, I shouted in desperation as I lunged toward a stylistic wooden sculpture of a dragon's head. I grabbed onto it with both hands and brought my chest toward the sculpture, wrapping my arms tightly around the dragon's horns while my right leg felt like it was going to dislocate at the hip.

Toothless screeched in alarm, but for all I could tell, he might have been a mile away.

The lead Speed Stinger was hanging about two feet off the ground and wasn't letting go. I looked down and saw its beady eyes glaring at the rope that was keeping its prize away.

I groaned in effort, trying to lift my right knee upward in hopes of being able to untie the rope, but the dragon was too heavy.

My arms and chest began to burn from fatigue, but I tried to will myself to keep hanging on because my life depended on it. As I looked down again, the lead dragon began thrashing, trying to wrestle the fish out of the ropes. Its body slammed against the wooden doors leading into the great hall with a loud _thud_ , but the impact didn't faze the dragon.

Toothless' worried face suddenly appeared to my right. I looked pleadingly into his eyes, hoping he'd come to my rescue, just like he always did.

The dragon used all of its body weight to violently wrench to its left. My right arm slipped from the sheer force of the Speed Stinger swinging like a pendulum's weight.

Reflexively, I lunged toward the wooden sculpture to regain my grip, but the dragon's momentum was still carrying me to the left. My right arm couldn't reach around the sculpture's head as my body weight crashed against my left arm, coupled with the dragon at the end of the rope, still trying to rip the fish free.

In slow motion, I watched in horror as my fingers slipped from the sculpture. I tried to grab at Toothless, even though he was about four feet away. Time felt like it froze with me in mid-air, as it seemingly took a few seconds for the sculpture to begin moving away from me.

Toothless watched in shock as time resumed and panic surged through my veins. He gave a short roar just as the doors leading into the great hall entered my vision.

I landed in the snow on my right heel and peg at an oblique angle, collapsing on my back. I immediately curled slightly as the wind was forced out of my lungs and rolled onto my right side, gasping for breath. My peg felt like it was driven through my thigh all the way to my left hip, and I could barely see from the impact with the ground. I vaguely heard the lead Speed Stinger roar in alarm, as the fish that had caught its interest brought an unlucky Viking along with it.

As the world slightly came back into focus, the lead Speed Stinger turned slightly, readying its tail for a killing strike. The dragon whipped toward me, its tail swinging around toward my chest.

I tensed, ready for the pain of death when a black blur crashed down on the dragon with a vicious roar. The dragon was nearly flattened underneath Toothless' weight. A few bones snapped, and the Speed Stinger roared in pain back at Toothless.

_Toothless, no_ , I thought.

But either the pain or the shock of falling kept my mouth shut. I could only watch as Toothless' open maw shot toward the dragon's neck.

Toothless wasn't bracing himself, like when he shot fireballs. He was lunging too much for that.

Toothless clamped his jaws around the dragon's neck and crunched. His front legs, neck, and shoulders rippled as he bit through the Speed Stinger's neck, its head clearly visible on Toothless' left, and its body hidden on his right.

The lead dragon tried to screech in pain, but only the first note came out, followed by a strangled wheeze. The Speed Stinger's neck snapped with several popping noises accompanied by a small fountain of blood pouring out of its neck and mouth. Toothless wrenched his head to his left slightly and clamped tighter, his eyes nearly squeezed shut from anger and effort. Through a small gap between his front legs, I watched helplessly as the Speed Stinger shuddered for about a second and then went limp.

Toothless whipped to his right, avoiding me with his tail and back legs, and presented the rest of the terrified Speed Stingers with their leader. He spat the dragon on the ground and gave an ear-splitting roar to the rest of the pack, daring them to attack, daring them to face imminent death. Blood was dripping from his teeth, and what was formerly the lead dragon was almost two separate pieces now.

The pack of Speed Stingers simply stood there, almost transfixed that their leader had met such a swift end. None of them made any movement that looked like they were reaching a decision on what to do next.

Toothless decided for them. He followed his display of brutality by launching a fireball directly into the group of Speed Stingers. It exploded as it met one of the dragons, followed by a painful shriek as it flew backward through its pack like a battering ram. Two other Speed Stingers were taken off their feet as the first dragon collided with them.

Toothless roared again and lunged forward with a swipe of his front claws, raking across the neck of another green dragon. A loud _smack_ echoed through the plaza as crimson droplets spread across the snow in front of the Speed Stingers. The dragon Toothless attacked staggered to its right a couple of steps and slumped.

I thought Toothless would stop there, but he quickly turned to his left and shot another fireball directly at the head of a Speed Stinger. The fireball exploded with a deafening _bang_ as it collided with the dragon, knocking it to the ground. The Speed Stinger's arms and legs twitched a few times, and the dragon was still after that.

There was no deciding what to do next among the Speed Stingers. Sure, they outnumbered Toothless about twenty to one, but none of them had any kind of body language that even remotely suggested they wanted to tangle with a Night Fury. Almost as a group, the Speed Stingers turned and headed west, toward the docks. Their hollow footsteps echoed as they found their way down the wooden planks and onto the coastline. Their panicked clicking and grunting quickly faded into nothingness.

Toothless roared at the top of his lungs after the retreating dragons.

_Cut the head off the snake, and the body dies._

I was still lying on my side, facing Toothless. I knew I should have been relieved the Speed Stingers were most likely gone, but all I felt was gripping fear. I had just watched Toothless murder several dragons without a second thought. He turned toward me, still with an enraged look on his face.

In true Hiccup fashion, I immediately cowered, afraid he was going to turn on me next. Toothless had given into his animalistic nature, and I just knew he was going to kill me.

I curled into a ball with a slight whimper, making myself as small as possible, hoping to become invisible to him, but he continued glaring at me for what seemed like forever.

But he never approached me. Toothless was about eight feet away from my face, and he never showed me any concern throughout our little staring contest. He never even blinked. He only breathed forcefully through his clenched teeth, his chest heaving in and out, large clouds of steam coming out of his mouth, and the occasional droplets of Speed Stinger blood raining down from his lips.

I kept my eyes locked with his, waiting for him to end my life.

Suddenly, Toothless whirled around and silently took off running. His muffled footsteps soon became lost in the snowscape.


	21. Chapter 21

"Hiccup, what did you do!?"

"Why did you kill it!? You could've just trapped the dragon and moved it somewhere else!"

"You were the first Viking on Berk to care for a dragon, and _this_ is the example you're showing everyone!?"

I tried to tell them they were mistaken. I didn't kill the lead Speed Stinger. It was Toothless, who fled before anyone could see what was going on. But just like every other time when I was scared or under too much pressure, my mouth felt like it was glued shut.

The three Vikings surrounding me were all just slightly smaller than Gobber. I craned my neck to look at them, but each one was simply a blur of color. I could pick out what was clothing, what was hair, and what was skin, but besides that, I couldn't make out any features. I didn't even recognize their voices, which just served to further reinforce my futility as Chief. I was supposed to know everyone in Berk by name.

It must have been the fall from the great hall's roof. That was why everything was fuzzy. Something must have been knocked loose in my head.

"How do you expect to be Chief and keep dragons around when you're only going to kill them?" one of the Vikings shouted. Without giving me a chance to answer, he wheeled around in disgust and strode away.

"Why don't we just give all our dragons to someone who hunts them for sport? I'm sure they could do a better job taking care of them than _you_ ," the second Viking said. And just like the first one, he walked away.

I looked toward the third Viking near me but couldn't find him anywhere. Stranger still, the first two left no visible tracks. There was only a light flurry of snow drifting down, which would never cover a grown man's footprints in a few seconds. I blinked several times, making sure I was still awake.

Those Vikings were simply a hallucination, but their words still echoed loudly in my head.

I groaned in effort, pulling myself to a crawling position and found myself face-to-face with the lead Speed Stinger, which looked like it was floating in a pool of blood. Its throat was completely mangled and spread open for all the world to see, and there was a section about two inches in length where only a muscle or two was securing the dragon's head to its body. The dragon's head was overlapping a couple inches of the back of its neck. On the snow about six inches from the dragon's lower jaw was a blood-covered neck bone. Toothless didn't have to go much further if he wanted to completely decapitate the dragon.

Beyond the lead Speed Stinger were the other three dragons Toothless had killed. The one closest to me had thick strips of flesh hanging from its chest, its ribs clearly visible against the red snow. Its right arm was completely severed from its body. Further away was another Speed Stinger with a gaping hole blown into its chest. To their left was the third dragon, its skull partially caved in, its lower jaw hanging sideways from only one joint, and one of its eye sockets empty. Each of them was lying in its own crimson bath.

I shivered, forcing myself to look away from the Speed Stingers. I slowly focused on my hands, half-buried in the snow and beginning to turn red, and clenched them, feeling the burn from the cold. Several tears escaped my eyes because of what Toothless did. He brutally murdered these dragons as a statement to the rest of the Speed Stingers. He killed them in cold blood. He ran away after glaring at me like he was going to kill me as well.

I felt like witnessing him kill these dragons and then nearly turn on me erased every bit of magic about him. I'd never see him in the same light again. To me, he wasn't Toothless anymore. He was just a Night Fury. He was just another dragon.

I wondered if I would ever see him again. Would I ever be able to take care of him again? Even if I did find him soon, it didn't mean he was going to be back to his normal self. What really scared me was that Toothless might try to avoid me forever, afraid of risking my safety.

What if I simply returned home? What if I let Toothless make his own decision on whether to return? I thought for a moment and realized anything could happen to him. He couldn't fly, at least not without me on his back. He wouldn't be able to get away from any starving dragons or other animals. I was pretty sure we had at least some of those around Berk.

I could think of a hundred other things, none of them good, that might happen to him. Even though he was "just another dragon," I still felt the need to make sure he was safe. It didn't seem right to simply let him fend for himself after taking care of him for so long. Toothless was still my dragon, no matter what he did.

With that, I made up my mind and painstakingly stood. My hips were sore, and my left knee felt like it was on fire. I looked down and saw my peg was still intact.

I pulled out the snow plate I had in my satchel. Or more accurately, half of it. I closed my eyes in defeat and dropped the now-useless chunk of iron into the snow near my peg. I unhooked the satchel from my belt and heard it land gently in the snow as well.

I glanced west and noticed the sun was in that direction, nearly touching the horizon. There was maybe an hour before sunset, which meant I only had one, maybe two, hours before the air turned lethally cold.

_You'll make a "good" Chief, Hiccup,_ I thought sarcastically.

I took one last look at the Speed Stinger and wondered what part of me decided that tying the rope around my ankle was a viable idea. There was nothing else that could have happened.

_Somebody else should be Chief after my dad,_ I continued thinking. _Maybe I should just be a blacksmith, like Gobber. But not Chief. The last few days have got to be proof to anyone that I can't keep a village safe._

Snow was still lightly falling from the grey sky overhead, so I decided now was just as good of a time as any to look for Toothless. Maybe I'd get lucky and find him. But considering the sheer number of failed ideas I had in the last few days, I knew my luck probably wasn't going to be favorable.

I started walking toward the plaza, hoping I could find Toothless' footprints and follow them. I knew he fled in this direction, and my guess was he ran to the forest so he could hide.

After about ten painful steps that seemed to take forever, a snag on my right shin abruptly stopped me. The bait rope was still tied to my ankle. Looking back, I saw the lead Speed Stinger was lying across the rope. The fish it wanted so badly was nearly shredded to pieces inches away from the dragon's snout, like it was a final, silent insult.

Bending down slowly, I tried to untie the rope, but my hands were too cold to show any dexterity. I pulled the knife I had stowed in my belt out and unceremoniously cut through the rope. Without looking, I dropped the knife in the snow by my peg and started walking again.

After several more steps, I found Toothless' footprints leading in a straight line toward the forest. He could have been anywhere on Berk, but I committed to my plan anyway.

I began trudging forlornly east, toward the forest. My shadow fell directly on Toothless' tracks, so I focused about eight feet in front of me, keeping my eyes there. I continued half-walking, half-limping because of my left leg. Not only was it in excruciating pain, the snow also made walking difficult.

After what seemed like a week, I reached the edge of the forest. The snow-covered firs were towering over me, making the forest seem like an impenetrable wall, but I continued walking.

Toothless' tracks were generally easy to find when I was in the village. In the forest, the shadows made tracking him almost impossible.

During the summer, light filtered quite easily through the trees. During the winter, though, the snow that had accumulated on the trees severely limited what I could see. Those shadows were playing tricks on my eyes, hiding gentle slopes and masking any footprints.

I slowly wandered forward, walking in a haze of thoughts, emotions, and cold. 

My hair briefly tangled with a branch, but I simply continued walking, unmindful of the small pile of snow that had built up around this tree. That is, until I turned around to check the western horizon. Predictably, it was blocked by the trees around me.

Before I could return my empty gaze forward, the fir tree I had just brushed under caught my attention. It was the only tree around without a thorough snow dusting. The only explanation was that something had collided with it.

I crouched slightly, trying to discern any footprints that Toothless might have made. I saw one slightly rounded depression with what looked like four vicious claw marks pointing forward.

_I hope this is actually useful,_ I thought.

I broke off a branch from the tree I passed under and stuck it vertically in the ground, like a beacon. In case I walked in a circle, I would know which direction to go. I stripped several leafy twigs from the branch and laid them end-to-end pointing in the direction I thought Toothless was heading.

I continued trudging forward.

Time and distance seemed to stretch to infinity in the forest. After a while, I began to tire. It was a lot of work having to lift my left leg about a foot higher than my right every other step. For some reason, I didn't even think about reloading my peg with a new snow plate from the armory when I had the chance. I was so focused on moving forward that I had forgotten why I had walked into the forest. I was now a mindless shell, rattled and dazed, wandering around aimlessly.

I looked back, trying to see the village. There were only trees but no village. The air was getting colder too.

_What's the point?_ I wondered.

There was a brief pause in my thoughts, as if the effort of thinking would soon become too much for me to handle.

_What am I doing here?_

I stopped and looked around for a moment, unable to keep from shivering. I sighed, a plume of steam coming from my mouth and turned around.

I started trudging again, hoping I was heading in the right direction. I tried following my tracks, but there was almost no light left. I didn't have a torch or lantern with me, and even if I did, there was no fire source nearby.

In the low light, everything looked the same. There were no features on the ground because everything was covered by snow. There were some gentle slopes here and there, but I couldn't find any boulders or paths I had carved out over the years to tell me where I was. Every tree looked exactly the same. I sighed, trying to feel my tracks using my right foot and peg.

After about ten more steps, my peg got stuck in something. I couldn't tell what it was. I didn't have the energy to find out or even look.

I mindlessly grabbed onto the peg and yanked. The first try brought my peg up slightly, so I pulled again. This time, my peg nearly shot out of the ground, nearly throwing me to my right. I couldn't regain my balance and ended up toppling onto my right side.

Panting, I tried to stand, knowing I didn't have much time before the air became too cold. But I had no energy left. I couldn't get back up.

I groaned in dejected agony, but I knew nobody would hear me. Nothing was going to care. I only hoped a death from hypothermia would be painless as everything faded into black.


	22. Chapter 22

_Am I dead? Is this what dying feels like?_

Strangely, I didn't feel very different than earlier. I was still cold. Everything was still dark. I tried to move slightly, but my right knee quickly found a wall that yielded slightly.

I had heard that scavenging animals usually remove the eyeballs of a dead carcass early on. I wondered if somehow that had happened to me and I miraculously woke up blind, before those animals could kill me.

From near my head came a plume of steam that had a fishy smell to it. I reflexively looked up and found most of the sky and trees above me were blocked by a solid object. But there was an occasional glint of white peeking through some covering. I reached up to touch it and felt a leathery texture.

I wasn't blind.

I returned my gaze to the so-called wall in front of me just as another steam plume met my face. It was vibrating somewhat forcefully, starting and stopping about every two seconds or so.

I tried to connect everything, the wall, the steam plumes and whatever was blocking the way up. Oh, and the vibrations.

It had to be a living creature. I looked at where the steam plumes were hitting me in the face and saw two yellow-green eyes staring back at me.

Toothless.

He somehow found me after I passed out from the cold and was protecting me. He was shivering to keep warm – no, he had an internal heat source. He was shivering to keep _me_ warm.

I didn't say a word or reach out to him because I was still afraid this was all some kind of cruel hallucination, taunting me before I succumbed to the cold. But as I kept looking into his eyes, the more I felt he was real.

I slowly reached up to his face with my left hand and gently brushed his snout. His breath surrounded my hand, warming it slightly. Toothless murmured softly, responding to my touch.

I had no idea dragons could show the same emotions as people. Deep down inside, I thought Toothless was protecting me all this time because of something I was doing for him, like he was repaying a favor. Never in a million years would I have guessed Toothless came back because he loved me.

I stroked Toothless gently on his cheek. He murmured again and pushed slightly into my hand. I felt him wrap his body a little more tightly around me as he reached his right front leg over my side.

Toothless pulled me against his chest and rumbled quietly. He sighed as he rested his chin on top of my hair.

He moaned plaintively, holding onto me like his life depended on it.

For a brief moment, time felt like it stopped. The world faded from existence as Toothless held onto me, making sure I was warm and safe.

"I love you too, bud," I whispered and was silent after that.

At least half of Berk was petrified, but I didn't care. I was supposed to be Chief, but that could wait. For now, nothing else mattered at all. Toothless still had plenty of magic left.

I thought back to all the times Toothless let me hold onto him when I felt scared or alone. Now, everything was reversed. Toothless was holding me because I could bring him comfort, or because he was scared, or because he was apologizing, or just because. Whatever the reason, I knew I had to be his emotional support and stay with him. He needed to know that I wasn't going to leave him.

With tears in my eyes, I reached toward the side of his neck and stroked gently. I very quickly doubted whether I could be Toothless' emotional support, but I knew I could be there for him.

"Just don't let go, Toothless," I whispered to him.

I wasn't sure if there was anything more comforting than a dragon hug.

A tear slid down my face, but I didn't do anything about it. I took a deep breath and pulled a little closer to Toothless' chest. He didn't move or respond. But that was okay, because I heard and felt his heart beating in a steady rhythm. I felt his chest slowly rising and falling. He was protecting me.

I closed my eyes and relaxed, secure in the knowledge that Toothless was going to be just fine. He was never going to be just another dragon.


	23. Chapter 23

"D'you hab ady ideas where he wedt?" a voice asked.

"Somewhere in the forest. I shoulda stopped him because he was walking like he was almost dead. I've checked everywhere he might be in the village, and he's nowhere to be found."

The silence from a few seconds ago returned.

"Gobber. Do you see dat?"

"You mean another pile of snow like all the other ones around us?" he asked in irritation.

"Doh, Gobber. I dink dat's a wihg tib ted feet away."

The crunching of snow underneath their feet became louder just as I tried to move. There was a small amount of light filtering into my eyes, but everything else was black.

I craned my neck slowly, looking toward Toothless' head. I only saw the bottom of his chin, and after a few seconds, it looked like he wasn't moving at all.

I brought my left knee toward my chest, digging slightly into Toothless' midsection, hoping it would stir him awake.

He didn't move.

His right legs and wing were wrapped over my left side, and when I tried to push away, they didn't budge. I pushed again, this time harder, just hoping to gain some purchase.

Toothless didn't move or respond.

I felt my gut tighten just slightly after a few seconds.

I had heard when an animal or human dies, there's a period where their entire body becomes as stiff as a tree trunk. My dad talked once about the proper time for burial or a funeral pyre – within five days after death because of the body's stiffness. After that, it begins to rot from the inside out.

I was certain Toothless and I hadn't been here for long, maybe a day or two at the maximum. Connecting my guess of the timing with Toothless' rigidity meant...

No, he couldn't be. Somehow, I was wrong in thinking he was dead. I just _had_ to be wrong about this.

But the more I pushed against him, the more I panicked. He still wasn't moving at all.

I waited for a brief moment, trying to keep my heartbeat from ringing wildly in my ears. I focused on Toothless' throat and chest, hoping to catch a glimpse of him breathing. Even if his breaths were shallow, it'd mean he was alive and I could take care of him. I could help him recover.

My eyes nearly strained from the effort of focusing on Toothless. I wanted him to show even a sliver of being alive more than anything in the world. I tried to will him into living, but nothing met my eyes except for a nearly-black wall.

My vision began to fade as I continued to focus. The breath I was holding escaped my mouth in a sharp huff, and I closed my eyes, trying to pull in precious air. After a few breaths, I opened my eyes again and met the same black wall in front of me.

I couldn't take it anymore. Everything felt like it was closing in around me – Toothless' grip, the snow on top of us, even the diffuse light seemed like it was getting dimmer.

I braced my hands and right foot against Toothless' midsection and shoved backward, groaning from the effort. The crunching sound of snow behind me signaled progress. I planted again, readying myself for another heave.

"Gobber, dere! Dat's a drahgod! It's boovihg!"

No other words were spoken between the two of them. I only heard their footsteps as they hobbled in my direction.

After about five seconds, a shaft of light exploded across my vision as a small pile of snow landed on my face. A hand soon came into view and cleared more snow away from above me. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the cold, wet feeling on my left cheek and ear.

Suddenly, the digging stopped. I squinted from the sudden intrusion of light overwhelming my vision and soon turned my gaze back toward Toothless' chest. His dark hide looked almost invisible to me, considering I had been nearly blinded a second ago. The daylight seemed bright to me, but I was pretty sure it was actually much dimmer in reality.

"I... It's..." Johann stammered.

"Hiccup," Gobber finished.

They stood there in silence, dumbfounded. After a few seconds, Gobber reached down and looped his prosthetic hook underneath Toothless' right foreleg. He lifted and motioned with his free hand for Johann to grab me.

Johann gingerly bent down with a slight groan, grabbed underneath my arms, and dragged me out of Toothless' embrace. The tip of his nose was dark red and grotesquely swollen, just like I had previously seen.

The air around me turned painfully cold, and for a few seconds, I gasped, my chest heaving and searching for any breathable air. The breath seared my throat, and I grimaced from the pain of feeling my lungs burn from the air.

Gobber lowered Toothless' leg back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Toothless' shoulder moving fluidly.

Gobber's shoulders were hunched slightly, and a couple seconds later, he bent toward Toothless and patted his right foreleg. Gobber turned away from Toothless without a word, barely motioning with his hook for Johann and me to follow.

There were no words spoken. He never looked at me or gave me any indication of what he knew. But his lack of action told me.

_I lost everything,_ I thought.

Johann supported me on my left side and began limping though the snow, dragging me with him.

_I lost everything, and I'm the reason for it,_ I realized.

I chose to look for Toothless out here, in the forest. In the snow. In the middle of winter. I nearly died from the cold, and Toothless had to sacrifice himself so that I would live.

Some stupid and idiotic "Chief" I was.

I craned my neck, looking back toward Toothless. He was lying completely motionless on his left side. I couldn't tell if his chest was moving because of the jerky rhythm of Johann's limp jarring my vision every second or so.

"Baster Hiccub, I'b... I'b sorry."

I didn't say anything in reply. The world only became blurry, both from tears and shock, as Johann continued limping his way toward Berk.

Amidst the lilting rhythm of Johann's footsteps crunching in snow, I thought I very faintly heard a loud exhale, almost like someone had brought the bellows from the forge to some distant location in the forest.

I grunted, unable to form words, and tried to turn around in Johann's grasp. I located Toothless without much trouble, but I was too far away from him to notice if he was actually breathing.

That rush of air sounded so real to me that I desperately wanted it to be Toothless. I could have sworn it was.

Johann continued limping with me in tow, unmindful of what I thought I was hearing.

I retreated into my mind, not paying attention to anything, until a door opened and a blast of heat from a welcoming fire met my face. For a moment, I glanced around the house, hoping to find a glimpse of Toothless. I wished a miracle would happen, and he'd magically be here, waiting for my return. But other than the three of us, the house was completely empty.

Johann nearly dropped me into a chair. I slumped, my elbows on my knees. I had no desire to do anything except possibly breathe.

We left Toothless in the forest. If he wasn't dead already, he was going to be soon. My dad and Astrid were paralyzed from Speed Stinger venom in my house with nobody to keep them warm.

I took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

_I have nothing left._


	24. Chapter 24

"This is just like when he was little," Gobber mumbled under his breath. "Always worrying everyone and a liability to the entire village. I told Stoick to teach him not to do this, told him Hiccup was going to cost someone their life. And what do you know... it finally happened."

"Gobber, dow is dot a goohd tibe for dis," Johann cautioned.

"I even tried to tell the boy, 'don't act like this. Don't put others in harm's way.' He never listened," Gobber continued, ignoring Johann's plea.

"I behg to differ. Dose drahgods would still be here widout Toodless. _I_ wouldit be alibe."

"What do you mean?"

"I bean, if Hiccub hadit tried to brihg dowd a Dight Fury, 'accidedtahlly' riskihg udder libes, you'd still be fightihg drahgod raids today. You'd still habe Speed Stihgers id Berk," Johann explained.

Although Johann was a couple days removed from being frostbitten on his nose, he actually looked and sounded worse than yesterday, and it had no effect whatsoever on him being loquacious.

If I could have gotten a word in edgewise, I had no idea what I would have said. I knew I didn't want to listen to them arguing about me while I was ten feet away.

Toothless was still out there, somewhere in the forest. If he was alive, I'd give anything to return him to Berk safely. And if he was dying, I was going to stay there with him so he wouldn't have to die cold and alone.

I stood slowly, my knees and hips creaking slightly from the effort. I walked as quietly as I could toward the door and opened it, which let in a blast of frigid air. I knew Gobber and Johann would notice, and they'd immediately chase after me, trying to prevent a repeat of what happened only hours ago.

The sky above us was still mostly dark except for a sliver of orange in the east. Dawn was on its way.

"Hiccup!" Gobber shouted.

I had already jumped outside and shut the door without acknowledging him. I began speed-hopping toward the armory, thankful it wasn't far from his house. There, I knew I could find a stash of snow plates.

As soon as I reached the door, a nagging thought burst into my head. This would be the first place Gobber would look because he knew what places I frequented around Berk. It didn't help that the armory and forge were close to his house.

I dashed into the armory, slamming the door shut on purpose. As I passed by my study, I briefly thought about grabbing a snow plate and heading toward Toothless, but I decided against it. That was too much time I didn't have.

Moving as quietly and quickly as I could, I stepped toward the back entrance of the armory, avoiding the slush pile that was seemingly growing larger every day.

For a second or two, I thought the slush mound to my right was big enough to hide Toothless.

_Wouldn't that be ironic if he was ready to pounce on me in here?_ I wondered.

The slush never moved as I skirted my way past it and opened the back door to the armory. I snuck out and closed the door, taking an extra second to keep it quiet. The door closed with a soft _thump_ , and I took a deep breath.

I knew there was one small depression nearby that looked like it was part of the cliff from Berk. Once it could be seen up-close, it actually was a gentler slope that led about halfway down the coast, then dropped off into oblivion.

Turning around, I began walking backwards as straight as I could possibly go without losing my balance. My neck started to ache slightly, but I kept looking behind me, hugging the armory wall. Once I reached the corner, I glanced to my left and saw the gentle slope I was looking for. Turning my back toward the cliff, I took the steps backward, hoping to fool Gobber or anyone else that I had been walking toward the armory.

I intermittently checked the area in front of me to make sure nobody was looking. People were still shuttered in their homes, trying to avoid the cold weather. Gobber and Johann were nowhere to be seen.

I turned my gaze backwards again and continued walking, trying not to lose my balance.

After about thirty feet, there was a very brief lag when my right foot didn't hit the ground when I thought it would. I paused, flexing my knees to maintain my balance, and then continued in reverse down the slope.

Walking backwards on a downslope was much more difficult that I had imagined. Each step I took felt like I was going to topple over because it took just a fraction longer for my feet to hit the ground. I knew I had to move slowly to make sure I didn't kill myself, but it didn't help that Gobber was probably on his way to the armory.

As if on cue, Gobber's muttering voice met my ears from a distance, followed by the front entrance to the armory opening. He cursed under his breath as he closed the door behind himself.

I continued backing down the slope, keeping my head turned to see where I was stepping. Each step had only one chance because if I reset my foot or peg, it would be obvious to a blind man that something wasn't right about my tracks.

"HICCUP!"

Gobber's voice seemingly shattered the air around me, even though it was muffled from inside the armory.

I continued backing away from the armory. Gobber would have to actually catch me if he wanted to keep me "safe." And even if he did, both of us knew I'd simply try to get out again.

Toothless was that important to me.

Once I lost sight of the armory, I had maybe twenty feet before this little path abruptly ended well above the coastline. There was nothing to hide in, so I simply crouched at the edge of the cliff and waited.

The rear entrance to the armory opened for a few seconds, but I didn't hear anything else. It soon closed, and that was that.

I stayed low, counting the seconds away as the wind buffeted me from my left side. As usual, it was cold, so I curled a little tighter and continued waiting. After maybe two minutes, I sat down in the snow, figuring a cold and wet rear would be better than jelly legs, but not much better.

Five minutes went by in my head.

_At least double it,_ I thought. _Let Gobber and Johann look somewhere else._

I started counting the seconds again.

About five minutes later, I stood, my knees groaning in protest, and trudged up the slope toward the village. Peeking above the wall in front of me, I glanced throughout town, trying to notice if anyone was actively looking for me. It didn't seem like Gobber or Johann was nearby, so I lunged up the path and walked into the armory like nothing was wrong.

Both candles were lit, but I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Ducking into my study, I grabbed a snow plate and attached it to my peg, grimacing once again at the feeling of the cold iron.

I exited the armory through the back entrance and began walking a roundabout path toward the forest on the opposite side of the village. I kept my gait even, like I was trying to go somewhere but there was no hurry.

After a few minutes, I had reached the forest without arousing any suspicion. My breaths were coming and going somewhat heavily, but I felt like the cold surrounding me wasn't as bad. Energized, I continued striding into the forest when I heard it.

"BASTER HICCUB!"

Everything in my mind told me to freeze in my tracks. Johann had let the entire world know I was heading toward the forest.

I paused slightly but forced myself to continue looking forward. After a split second, I simply picked up the pace, hoping I could reach Toothless before Gobber or Johann could reach me.

"BASTER HICCUB! STOHP!" Johann shouted again. His voice was somewhat muffled due to the snow-covered trees around us, but it projected well enough anyway.

I reached a fir tree that had no snow covering it and vaguely remembered something about this area. I had made a signal of some kind. My eyes darted around the tree until they settled on what I had nearly forgotten. A small fir branch was sticking vertically out of the snow, and there was another branch, stripped of its leaves. The leaves were laid end-to-end to make an arrow.

It was telling me which direction I thought Toothless was headed. I was pretty sure I had passed out soon after making this.

"Come on, buddy, show me something," I pleaded under my breath as I started walking again.

"HICCUP!" a voice shouted from behind me. It was Gobber. Johann had probably let him know he was on my trail. I only hoped both of them would be slowed by their legs – Gobber with his peg, and Johann with his injury.

Less than a minute later, I was certain I had found the spot. There was a shallow, roughly circular depression in the snow, and near one end was a light red splotch.

I shivered, not from cold, but from fear. Toothless had bitten through the lead Speed Stinger's throat and killed several other dragons. It didn't matter if he had murdered the entire pack of dragons. The horrifying sound of Toothless crushing the lead dragon's neck was palpable to me.

Once you hear a sound like that, you don't forget it.

Toothless had Speed Stinger blood on his mouth, just like I was wearing Speed Stinger blood on my yakskin coat and trousers. Based on that red spot, I was almost certain this is where I had passed out. I was almost certain this is where he found me and kept me warm until Gobber and Johann arrived.

I wished I could be almost certain he was still alive.

"GOTCHA!" Gobber shouted, grabbing my shoulder.

I jumped with a shout, but it didn't do anything to release the pressure from his hand.

"Hiccup, I don't care what's going through your mind. You're Chief, you need to be helping Vikings right now. Keep their fires stoked if they can't move, because the last thing you want on your hands is your own people to die from the cold."

Before I could think of anything else, the words tumbled from my lips. I nearly whispered them, but they seemed to shatter the air between us.

"Where did he go?" I asked.

"Who? Johann?" he asked, almost mockingly. "What kind of question is that!? He hasn't gone anywh-"

"No," I interrupted. "Toothless."

Both of us froze. Toothless wasn't here. Both Gobber and Johann were acting like he was dead when they dragged me away from him.

He had to be alive. He just _had_ to be.


	25. Chapter 25

Time felt like it stopped for a brief moment as I stared blankly at the splotch of red ten feet away from me.

Toothless had been here. He protected me from the cold in this spot. He made sure I would live after I searched for him in this forest.

Now, I was absolutely certain what I had heard when Johann was dragging me away from Toothless was real. He _had_ to be alive.

Slowly, I walked around the depression in the snow, looking for any Night Fury tracks. There was the mess of tracks from Gobber, Johann, and me leading back toward the village. Following those tracks with my eyes, Berk was barely visible through the snow-covered trees. Home wasn't far away, but during that time I was searching blindly for Toothless, the forest seemed to have no end.

"What are you doing, Hiccup?" Gobber asked in irritation.

I didn't answer. I had found what I was looking for.

Toothless was way heavier than any human, and I had just found deep, circular prints with four vicious looking marks pointing slightly away from Berk. As far as I could tell, this path put Toothless directly in line with our _h_ _ákarl_ stores. I scowled in disgust, hoping Toothless wouldn't degrade himself that much to eat rotted shark.

I hunched slightly, trying to keep my focus on the Night Fury tracks just to my left. They were spaced just far enough apart to tell me Toothless was loping at a steady pace. He was probably healthy, although he must have been hungry. Maybe he did go after our _h_ _ákarl_ stash. At least we'd get rid of some of it.

"All right, Hiccup, what did you find?" Gobber asked, growing more impatient by the second.

I didn't answer. I only continued following the dragon tracks for about a hundred feet. Gobber's foot and peg crunched in the snow some distance behind me, but my body language had told him I was deeply interested in what I had found.

Toothless' tracks canted left near a snow drift that had piled up underneath a fir tree. The snow had probably come from the tree itself, considering it was void of white in most areas.

"I think Toothless was just here," I said. The long, awkward silence between us made my answer sound like I was simply talking to myself.

"All right, fine," he conceded with a huff. "Find Toothless but make it fast. We have a village to take care of."

I nodded in silence and refocused on the Night Fury tracks just to my left. The first step I took was with my right leg, and the snow crunched under my boot. I stepped across the tracks with my peg to avoid having to walk on the drift to my right.

Pausing, I checked to see where they were going. The shadows from the trees were creating illusions with the snow in front of me, but I thought I could see Toothless' footprints heading straight away from me.

I began walking forward again, following the tracks.

Suddenly, the drift to my right exploded in a shower of snow, ice, and an animal roaring in ambush. I yelled in panic and backpedaled. The snow plate on my peg caught edge-on as I staggered backwards, and I immediately fell on my rear, looking straight up at a jet-black dragon with yellow-green eyes.

"HICCUP!" Gobber shouted from ten feet away.

Reflexively, I curled into a ball, cowering as the dragon landed with his front legs straddling me. The dragon growled menacingly for about two seconds, then swiped its tongue up my right side several times. It grunted in excitement, while I yelled in disgust.

I paused, realizing how stupid I looked just now.

This was Toothless.

He continued licking my chest and face as I put my hands up to stop him.

"ALL RIGHT! STOP! STOP!" I shouted.

My hands were dripping with his saliva, and the air around me smelled like fish that had been sitting out for too long. It didn't smell as bad as the _h_ _ákarl_ , though.

Toothless' breath was huffing in and out through his nose, sounding like the bellows in the forge. His eyes were wide in happiness, and he was licking his lips, just like I had seen him do several times when he was excited.

I groaned as I stood, trying to at least wipe my hands off in the snow. Not only did Night Fury saliva smell bad, it became sticky after a few moments.

"Gross," I muttered under my breath.

As I refocused on Toothless again, Gobber's voice met my ears.

"Hiccup, your dragon is _weird._ I don't know how I'd put up with him."

I glanced at Gobber and noticed his shoulders were slumped. His entire body was just as confused as his face.

Toothless might have been bizarre with his equally strange quirks, but I wouldn't trade him for the world.

I turned slightly to face Gobber and shrugged. "You get used to it." I paused, then added, "Besides, you put up with me."

Without waiting for Gobber's response, I returned my gaze to Toothless. I wanted to ask him why he acted like he was dead. I wanted to ask him why he chose to ambush me. The only problem was he couldn't speak English, much less at all.

In place of a question, a wry grin had crept its way across my face, completely out of my control. My shoulders relaxed and dropped several inches, feeling the weight of the world disappear. I walked toward Toothless and placed my hands on his saddle. He hunkered down slightly and let me climb onto his back.

For just a moment, I felt like I could handle anything the world threw at me. I looked around the forest, seeing open space where the trees ended and the village began. The air around me didn't feel cold at all. The sky, while grey, didn't seem so unforgiving.

Finally, I found Gobber standing in the snow watching me and Toothless.

I motioned slightly with my left shoulder toward the village and said, "We've got a village to take care of."

Without waiting for Gobber's approval, I nudged Toothless' flank with my right knee and gently pushed forward in his saddle. He began walking toward home, carrying me on his back.

It only took us a few silent minutes to reach the edge of the forest. I was thankful Gobber didn't say anything during our little trip because I just wanted to soak up the feeling of being near Toothless again.

The great hall was our first stop. Between us and the double doors leading in were the Speed Stinger corpses. My stomach dropped slightly, as Toothless approached them, his shoulders tensed in anticipation of an attack. He leaned forward slightly and began sniffing at the lead Speed Stinger, the dragon he nearly decapitated with his jaws.

_C'mon, buddy, we'll move these dragons soon,_ I thought.

Soon enough, Toothless returned to a normal standing position and looked away from the Speed Stinger's corpse, signaling he was through with the dragon.

Gobber had already plodded past us and opened the double doors leading into the great hall. I nudged Toothless with my right knee again and directed him inside.

A few Vikings who were spared from the Speed Stingers were quietly eating a meal or whispering in hushed tones. The great hall reverberated with an echoing _clank_ as Gobber shut the doors behind us.

I counted fifteen Vikings inside, and all of them turned toward the three of us. My face went red immediately, as that invincible feeling took flight and abruptly deserted me. I hadn't even thought about the repercussions of having to own up to my ineptitude as chief until now. After a few seconds, I realized I wasn't breathing or blinking.

Gobber noticed too and said, "You're not scared of a dragon that wanted to kill you, but you're terrified now? I _really_ don't know how I've been able to put up with you."

The breath I was holding quietly hissed through my closed teeth, and I pulled in a deep lungful of air, my head spinning just slightly and my vision blurring barely out of focus. I wanted to shoot a glare at Gobber, but I felt as if I focused too much I'd pass out.

As my heart rate slowly returned to normal, I dismounted from Toothless' back and led him to the back of the great hall. My only hope at the moment was that people would stay quiet about the last few days.

Their stares burned into my head as I plodded by with Toothless at my side, but his presence seemingly didn't do anything to protect me.

We reached the back of the great hall, where there was a modestly-sized pile of fish and eels. I filled a basket to the rim with fish and waddled with it over to Toothless, who was dutifully waiting near a table. I placed the basket on the floor and used my right foot to tip it over. The fish spilled out, cascading over one another.

I stole one quick glance around the great hall. Gobber had already sat down near us and was digging into cooked chicken meat. The other Vikings here had mostly resumed eating and gossiping.

Toothless' eyes widened in anticipation as he approached his meal. He snagged a fish with his teeth, bit it in half, and swallowed.

I scowled at him a little but didn't say anything as he padded toward me. After a few seconds, his eyes lost focus, and after three hurking, cough-like movements, he regurgitated the front end of the fish at my feet.

"Thanks, bud," I said appreciatively, stepping away from his little gift. I stroked him on his cheek, making him rumble in pleasure for a few seconds.

Listening to him made me completely forget about my worry upon entering. Toothless really was nothing short of magical.

Once I let him go, he immediately turned around and began eating in silence.


	26. Chapter 26

I brought Toothless back to our house, passing the Speed Stinger I had... well... you know. Just like all the others, he stopped to investigate it. Toothless never growled, but he was certainly tense for a few seconds. Once he was finished checking the dragon's corpse, he returned to a more neutral standing position and followed me inside.

I only wanted to sit next to a welcoming fire while thinking of plans. A plan to move the Speed Stinger corpses out of Berk. A plan to take inventory of our food stocks. A plan to make sure everyone had food and water. A plan to account for the paralyzed Vikings in Berk. And if time permitted, a plan to once and for all banish any _h_ _ákarl_ from this island.

I didn't plan on hearing a loud _thunk_ from inside the walls.

Looking around the house to locate the source of that crash, my eyes settled first on Astrid, then my dad, and then finally Stormfly.

Stormfly's legs were twitching slightly, and after a few seconds, her right leg snapped, creating that same loud _thunk_ as it bumped into the wooden floor.

Toothless growled, probably surprised by the harsh and abrupt movements from Stormfly.

I simply watched, transfixed as Stormfly's legs spasmed for several minutes, her chest heaving in and out, and her throat constricting repeatedly. She made a sickeningly gagging sound as she struggled to breathe.

Her increasingly spasmodic motions looked almost exactly like a seizure. They forced her onto her side, and her tail slammed into the floor. As she continued flopping, her tail left two spines about the size of my thumb embedded deeply into the wood beneath her.

There was nothing I could do except watch. She was much larger and heavier than I was, maybe the same weight as Toothless. I could only hope and pray that she didn't asphyxiate.

Toothless snapped at the air in front of him, his jaws popping shut. His growl deepened in pitch as he eyed Stormfly menacingly, telling her to stop the haphazard movements.

I stood and took four steps to my left, placing myself between Toothless and Stormfly. Toothless' growling subsided a little, but more importantly, he didn't move himself to find a different line of sight to Stormfly.

I turned around, watching Stormfly's legs and chest spasm. It looked like the intensity of her movements was slowly lessening. After a few seconds, a gigantic rush of steam exited her nose, and she pulled in a deep, sharp breath of cold air. She exhaled, her side dropping several inches as her lungs emptied.

Stormfly continued taking gasping breaths every few seconds, but her eyes never opened. After a few minutes, her breathing settled into a gentle, hypnotic pattern, like she was sleeping.

_That was over quickly,_ I thought.

A second thought crashed into my head immediately afterward. _I wonder if Johann went through the same production._

Nobody ever told me how Johann recovered. He was simply moving around and being talkative like it was any other day.

I soon realized Astrid and my dad would probably end up going through the same process as Stormfly. I cursed under my breath, knowing the next undefined time period would be just as stressful as trying to rid Berk of that pack of Speed Stingers. I'd only be able to make sure Astrid, my dad, and Thornado didn't injure themselves while regaining muscle control, and I'd have to also make sure they didn't scare Toothless or Stormfly with their movements.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself. Anything outdoors would have to wait until everyone in this house recovered.

Toothless had probably gotten over being startled, so I sat down again, my back slumping because I didn't want to watch this.

The door opened quietly and clicked shut a few seconds later. I fought the urge to turn around, instead listening to the footsteps as they approached. I had a decent idea who was entering just by gut feel, and I waited for the distinct _pat-clunk_ of Gobber's footsteps to fill my ears.

"Baster Hiccub," the person said from behind me. "It's goohd to see you're id odh biece. I was wohderihg where you had god."

I almost rolled my eyes in frustration. It was Johann, still with a sealed nose, and still as loquacious as ever.

I turned toward him, but didn't address his concern.

"What happened before your boat got stuck in the ice?" I asked.

Johann limped toward a chair, pulled it out slightly and sat down. He sucked in a breath through tight lips, which had a slightly wet crackle to it. He swallowed with some effort, his face showing a slight grimace.

_His ears pop every time he swallows,_ I realized. That had to be an uncomfortable feeling.

"Well," he started, "I was goihg to visit Behrk adyway, but I was lahte in leavihg two days before dat. I dought I could let by boat steer idself, so to speak, but whed I was securihg de deck, dat greed drahgod juhped od board."

I thought for a brief moment, making sure I had translated everything properly in my head before asking another question.

"You didn't see the ice bridge or any dragons before that?"

"Doh, Baster Hiccub. I odly saw oped wahder. I chehcked by food store ad mahde sure I would be warb edough for de dight." He paused, thinking for a moment. "It was wihdy dat evedihg, ad I dink de wihd pushed by boat off-course a liddle."

That made sense to me. He wasn't even paying attention to exactly where he was going, and being pushed just a little to the side brought his boat close enough for a particular Speed Stinger on the ice bridge to investigate.

"What did you do when the dragon jumped onto your boat?" I asked.

"It was scahry," he said immediately. "De drahgod roahred at be, ad de last ding I rebeber was fallihg dowd de last few steps in de hode. Dat was it."

"Did you have open fish in the hold?" I asked.

"Yes, Baster Hiccub. I had just eatehd subber."

Pure and simple, this was a case of rotten luck for Johann. I doubted things with the Speed Stinger pack would have turned out differently had fortune been on his side. The scout would have simply found Berk, noticed we had food, and then turned around to let its brethren know.

"You sahbed by life, Baster Hiccub," he said after a silence had fallen over us. "I cah't dank you edough for dat."

I almost did it. Sarcastic Hiccup almost showed up and responded with, _Yes, you've thanked me enough, now stop talking._

Instead, I held my tongue for a beat, then replied with, "You're welcome."

Johann smiled a little as another _thunk_ echoed through the house. Toothless jumped with a start, whipped in a circle while growling, ready to kill the source of the sound.

My eyes instinctively shot toward Thornado, who was twitching exactly like Stormfly was. Inside, I panicked because he wasn't going to have control over his breathing for a few moments.

Toothless glowered at Thornado as his legs twitched spasmodically and his throat opened and closed.

Thornado's gagging sound was much deeper than Stormfly's. A small amount of saliva trickled out of his mouth as he struggled to regain control of his body.

Suddenly, his chest inflated, expanding to what seemed like twice its original volume. Before I could react, Thornado gagged again, followed by a loud rush of air exiting his mouth directly at Toothless. A large cloud of steam enveloped Toothless' body, and he responded by blinking in confused surprise at what had just happened.

Thank goodness. It wasn't a roar, because Toothless would have probably lost his hearing, if not died outright from that close.

Thornado's chest heaved as he slowly regained his breathing, each time exhaling a cloud of steam directly at Toothless.

Toothless snapped at the air in front of him in warning, telling Thornado to stop.

"Toothless, c'mere, buddy," I said gently.

I was going to try the easy way out first, not having to walk into Thornado's exhaled breaths.

"Gohbber said de exahct sabe ding happehd to be whed I recovered," Johann pointed out.

Toothless glanced at me, and a few seconds later, he padded over to my right side. He sat back on his haunches with an exasperated groan while glaring at Thornado.

I tried to stifle a giggle as he slowly relaxed and heaved a massive sigh.

"I'm gonna wait until my dad and Astrid wake up," I told Johann.

He nodded just as the door opened and closed quietly. Both of us glanced toward the door and saw Gobber standing there, not moving. His eyes were deeply focused on me.

_Who did I disappoint this time?_ I wondered sardonically.

"Hiccup, there are two Speed Stingers near the great hall," he stated.

There was a pause, but his expression told me he was going to say something else.

Gobber averted his gaze downward slightly and added, "And Hookfang died."


	27. Chapter 27

I took a deep breath and heaved a sigh. We were finished with the Speed Stingers. Everything was supposed to be okay.

Without saying a word, I painstakingly stood, hoping Gobber was somehow wrong about both the Speed Stingers and Hookfang. I followed him outside, not daring to look up.

Gobber limped a few feet in front of me, his wooden peg leg sinking through the snow with each step forward.

"Snotlout's paralyzed for now," he said as he stopped in front of me.

I glanced around, wondering why in the world Gobber made me trudge through the snow when he had stated there were two Speed Stingers somewhere in Berk. Surely they'd see us here.

Hookfang was about fifteen feet in front of me, unmoving. Some distance to my left were the great hall and silo. Just as Gobber had stated, there were two green dragons were standing guard in front of the silo door. After several minutes, I watched as three Vikings each took a roundabout path to get to the rear entrance of the great hall, avoiding the dragons.

The Speed Stingers simply watched the Vikings walk out of their sight, but never moved toward them.

I returned my attention to Hookfang. He still had that same puncture wound in his thigh, crusted over with frozen blood.

There had to be some sign he was alive, if for no other reason than hopeless optimism. Thinking back to Stormfly and Thornado, they both started to recover with spasmodic motions, followed by voluntary control of their breathing. But before those moments, I could only guess what was happening.

My first thought was to examine his midsection. Maybe there would be twitching muscles in his hips or where his wings met his back.

"Can you see any movement where his wings meet his back?" I asked Gobber.

"Hiccup, what are you talking about? _He's dead."_

I didn't respond to him, only edging toward Hookfang's snout. It didn't take long for me to notice the snow around him had a different look to it than the typical white I was used to. Fresh snow often had a powdery texture, and yet, the snow around Hookfang had an appearance closer to ice.

_Did the snow refreeze around him?_ I thought.

Almost on a whim, I gently placed the back of my right hand on his snout. My eyes widened slightly as I realized his hide wasn't frigid.

Monstrous Nightmares had this often-irritating ability to coat themselves in fire. Sometimes they blasted lava from their mouths for just this purpose, and other times they simply heated up from some internal source.

Hookfang's warmth had to be from that internal source. He couldn't be dead.

"You're not gonna bring him back to life, you know," Gobber stated, breaking my concentration.

At soon as Gobber had finished his sentence, Hookfang's left leg snapped straight, nearly kicking Gobber's peg out from underneath him. Gobber yelped in surprise and jumped backward.

Immediately, I backed away from Hookfang's snout in case he couldn't control his breathing. With a deep rush, his flank expanded as he inhaled, and a second later, a bright reddish-orange and viscous flow emerged from his closed mouth. It spurted about two feet in radius around his head and hissed as it met the snow. Steam clouds billowed around Hookfang, exposing frozen ground underneath.

For a brief second, I thought about turning toward Gobber and saying something about suddenly acquiring the ability to raise the dead. But the opportunity passed just as quickly, so I let it disappear like the steam around Hookfang's mouth.

Hookfang's flank expanded again, and he went through the same motions, except halfway through his exhale, fire splattered out of his mouth with a paroxysmal cough. His eyes flew open, and he soon regained control over his breathing. Large clouds of steam shot out of his snout as his chest heaved in and out.

He blinked a few times, a confused expression behind his eyes.

Just then, that same opportunity about my ability to raise the dead flashed in front of me, so I grabbed onto it.

"Now that I've resurrected Hookfang, I think I'll just go take care of those Speed Stingers," I said nonchalantly.

I had taken two steps toward the great hall when Gobber's hand grabbed onto my coat.

"Oh, no you don't, wise guy."

"Gobber, did you see how they acted a few moments ago? They're just standing guard in front of the silo, not attacking anyone. When the lead dragon was running around, they were _way_ more aggressive."

Those two Speed Stingers weren't acting like they were defending a territory. They seemed to be more observant and attentive, rather than tense. I thought they were simply trying to find a meal.

I almost added, _I bet I could walk up to them, and they wouldn't move._

"Hiccup, I can't believe you think you've just become this... this," he paused, searching for the right words, " _this_... you know what I'm trying to say... dragon tamer. I don't want to have to take care of you being paralyzed now. You scared me to death the past few days worrying and doubting yourself."

Both of us fell silent. The air was completely still, and it felt like any sound nearby was muted.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you even survived."

Gobber immediately shrunk back a little after that comment, and his expression told me everything. Blunt Gobber had reappeared in a spectacular entrance.

I scowled and wheeled around in disgust, silently announcing my reinvigorated intentions and newly-acquired frustration with Gobber. He didn't say anything.

I strode toward the rear entrance of the great hall and walked in. A moderately-sized pile of fish and eels greeted me, and I stopped as soon as I had closed the door behind myself. I was still seeing red after Gobber's backhanded comment about wanting to just let me die, and I knew that attitude was suicide when approaching a dragon.

I took a few deep breaths with my eyes closed, focusing on how my chest and throat felt as they responded to the cold air. Slowly, the sounds in the great hall filtered into my ears. There was the large fire crackling in the center of the hall. There was the sound of footsteps. There was a low murmur as people exchanged conversations. There were a random noises every so often as plates and mugs scraped against wooden surfaces.

Wait.

Glancing around, I saw the great hall had several Vikings milling about, either eating, drinking, or lost in conversation. We were returning to a normal life.

I grabbed a bucket and placed four fish inside. I walked out and approached the two Speed Stingers cautiously. They watched me with curious interest, but never tensed or moved away.

Once I was about ten feet away from them, I pulled two fish out of the bucket and placed them on the ground about five feet apart.

One of the Speed Stingers hunkered slightly, like it was investigating what I had placed in front of it. The other took a halting step forward.

_They're looking for something to eat_ , I thought.

As soon as I had taken several steps backward, the two dragons simultaneously rushed the fish and tore into them, just like what I had witnessed when Toothless had slaughtered their leader.

I waited for the dragons to finish and make eye contact with me again. Briefly, I pulled a fish out of the bucket and then began walking backward. The dragons followed until I reached the wooden surface marking the descent to the coastline and our docks. After three steps toward the docks, I realized the dragons had stopped following me and were simply watching.

Immediately, an explanation for their behavior formed in my mind. These were stragglers, left behind after the pack of Speed Stingers fled from Toothless. They were probably looking for a new "pack" and a food source.

A frustrated groan escaped my throat as I glanced upward in resignation. I was almost certain Toothless wouldn't be amenable to having two Speed Stingers around after the events in the past few days.

Against my better judgment, I approached the two dragons and left the remaining fish on the snow in front of them, which they immediately attacked. I turned toward home, passing the Speed Stinger corpses that a few Vikings were gawking over.

Near my house, the lone Speed Stinger's body was gone. In its place was a collection of frozen reddish slush. I strode past that area, hoping it wouldn't grab a stranglehold over my attention. I opened the door and walked in, finding Toothless, Stormfly, and Thornado huddling around my dad and Astrid.

All three of the dragons inside the house glanced at me before turning their attention back toward the two motionless Vikings in front of them.

I gently placed my hand on Toothless' flank. He grunted softly and turned toward me.

"C'mon, buddy. I need your help," I whispered.

I led him out of our house, promising myself to trust him no matter the outcome of the next few minutes.


	28. Chapter 28

As soon as Toothless and I approached within fifteen feet of the two Speed Stingers, the air around us changed. It was already cold, but the air seemingly became much heavier, and I felt like it was a struggle just to breathe.

Toothless growled at the two dragons, hunkering slightly so they could see he was ready to attack.

_I trust you, buddy,_ I thought as I removed my left hand from his flank.

Toothless glanced to his right for a beat, then returned his glare toward the two Speed Stingers. He took a step forward and deepened his growl.

The two dragons simultaneously stepped backward, keeping their respectful distance from Toothless. The Speed Stinger on Toothless' right glanced around itself. Its motion wasn't purposeful like what I had seen previously when the herd of dragons was trying to exert its control over Berk. This dragon's eyes were wide, and its herky-jerky motions were a sign of fear.

_The dragon's not in control of its surroundings,_ I realized.

From experience, I knew dragons would most likely lash out if they felt they had lost control over what was around them or if they couldn't find an escape. In anticipation of the Speed Stinger attacking, I moved away from Toothless, giving him space.

Predictably, the panicked Speed Stinger roared at him, its pitch slightly higher than what I had remembered. Toothless simply stood his ground, still in his threatening pose. Both the Speed Stingers soon began popping their jaws together, each time creating a loud snapping sound.

Just like when I had encountered that first Speed Stinger on Johann's boat, I felt like something wasn't right about this situation. The Speed Stingers in front of me weren't willing to relinquish the food source they had found, and Toothless was glowering at them, waiting for them to attack or leave. It seemed like time was frozen, the three dragons locked into this moment and unwilling to yield.

Toothless broke the moment, stepping toward the dragons. The panicking Speed Stinger responded almost immediately by turning to its left and trying to get away from the Night Fury in front of it.

In my preoccupation, I didn't realize I had blocked the dragons' direct line toward the docks. The Speed Stinger had taken two steps to run away from Toothless and then screeched when it realized there was a Viking obstructing its path. The dragon quickly raised to its full height in surprise, locking eyes with me.

I tried to leap to my left, which would have opened a path to the docks, but my right knee gave out from the panic that was surging through my body. Instead, I gracelessly collapsed in the snow with a yelp, unable to move anywhere. My arms and legs batted against the snow without gaining any traction.

Suddenly, a hollow explosion sent a shock wave rocketing through my chest. It was followed a second later with another similar report.

I stopped moving, the realization of what had happened taking over my body before my mind could figure out what was going on.

I didn't need to see it to know. Toothless had killed these dragons. He growled menacingly as the Speed Stingers' final moans reached my ears. Within seconds, they stopped, leaving only Toothless' rumbling.

It was foolhardy to bring Toothless out here, but I wasn't sure if there was any other choice. Those two dragons would eventually meet Toothless if they were going to integrate with the other dragons here, and I was almost certain it wasn't going to be pretty. Maybe by some remote chance he'd have tolerated them. That was what I was hoping for.

Slowly, I stood back up, having to continually remind myself not to be angry with the outcome. Toothless was protecting me, just like the past few days.

Brushing the snow off my body, I glanced toward the Speed Stingers. Both of them were motionless, their chests torn open the same way. Had the scene not been so gruesome, I would have been impressed with Toothless' accuracy in shooting fireballs.

"You certainly made that look easy," Gobber observed from behind me.

Just before I replied, his comment earlier about my survival grabbed onto my mind. My mouth was open, but in a rare moment of foresight, I shut it. Something stupid was about to come out.

I turned toward Gobber and shrugged, trying to silently deflect his praise without tipping him off as to what I was thinking.

"Don't be so modest, Hiccup."

I stayed mum.

After what felt like an exceedingly long and awkward silence, I finally asked, "Where was the first Speed Stinger buried?"

Gobber looked at me blankly for a second, then responded, "You mean the one from Johann's boat?"

I nodded.

He shrugged. "I'm taking these dead dragons west of the yak pasture. At the end of the next north wind, we'll burn them."

_West of the yak pasture_ , I thought. There was something else there that could be burned. For a brief moment, my mind scrambled, trying to connect that location with something. My eyes brightened as soon as I had found it.

"Can we burn the _h_ _ákarl_ too?" I asked, trying to exaggerate my disdain for it.

"Dragon carcasses only," Gobber replied without missing a beat.

With that, he grabbed the lower legs of one of the recently-killed Speed Stingers and began dragging it west, walking backward and checking his direction every few steps. The dragon's body created a deep furrow in the snow as it trailed behind Gobber.

I followed suit and gathered the ankles of the other dragon carcass. Its skin was still warm to the touch, which was unsettling to me. I took two steps to my left, pulled for a second, then stopped due to the Speed Stinger's weight coupled with the snow underneath its body.

These dragons were pure muscle. They weren't much taller than me, maybe a foot or two at the most, but I guessed this Speed Stinger outweighed me by at least fifty pounds. They really were built for speed.

Toothless was watching me with an expression that seemingly said, _What are you doing?_ He stayed rooted to his spot, sitting on his haunches with no apparent interest in helping whatsoever.

The sound of snow crunching under a noticeable limp met my ears. I turned around to find a slightly panting Gobber trudging toward me.

"Hiccup, why didn't you follow me?" he asked.

I impulsively glanced at the dead dragon to my right and mumbled, "Too heavy."

Gobber rolled his eyes as he grabbed the dragon's ankles and began dragging it into the furrow from the first one.

"All that time in the forge, and you _still_ can't lift anything?" he asked incredulously as he hauled the carcass westward.

I heaved an exasperated sigh as Gobber finally shifted his focus to relocating the Speed Stinger's body.

"Let's go home, bud," I said to Toothless.

I began trudging back home. After a few steps, Toothless' footsteps reached my ears. He shuffled effortlessly through the snow on my left side. Once we reached our house, I opened the door, and he loped inside.

Toothless paused for a beat, his body halfway inside the house. I was mindlessly walking forward, grateful we were finished with the Speed Stingers when I bumped into his back right leg. He grunted in mild surprise.

I looked at Toothless curiously. He never stopped like this when entering.

His body was blocking my view of what was inside, and naturally, my first thought was another Speed Stinger had found its way into our house.

Toothless plodded indoors, which nullified my thought about yet another Speed Stinger.

As soon as I walked in, I froze in shock. My dad was sitting at the table, looking more like a disheveled wreck than a chief. He was breathing heavily, a few strands of saliva dripping from his open mouth. His back was hunched over, and it seemed he was using the table to support his upper body weight.

He was alive.


	29. Chapter 29

I simply stood in my spot, transfixed by the image of my dad so helpless. In the back of my mind, I had figured recovery from Speed Stinger venom wasn't going to be sudden. Predictably, that notion was destroyed by watching Stormfly, Thornado, and Hookfang quickly come to their senses, and so I had assumed the same thing would happen for the Vikings who were envenomated.

I didn't know whether to say anything or just let him recover on his own. His eyes weren't focused on anything, so I wasn't sure if he had even noticed Toothless and me enter.

Against what I felt was my better judgment, I broke the silence.

"D-dad?"

His eyes focused slightly for about two seconds, then returned to their blank stare. He made some kind of guttural sound, but his mouth wouldn't move.

_How in the world did he get to a sitting position in this state?_ I wondered.

He slowly closed his mouth and painstakingly swallowed. He opened it again, and a brief rush of air exited as a small cloud of steam. After about a minute, his eyes focused again. This time, they slowly swiveled upward and found me.

I didn't move a muscle for a few seconds. But the pressing need to say something had built up enough in my chest that I had no choice. My shoulders relaxed a little, and a weak smile crossed my face.

"Dad."

He closed his mouth again and made an effort to lean back slightly. His slow movement indicated that he didn't have complete control over his motions, but it was also obvious that his mind was intact.

I stepped toward him, my footsteps making alternating _pat-clunk_ sounds. For a brief second, I stopped just feet short of his side. He slowly craned his neck to his left, then moved his arm out of the way.

I couldn't stop myself any longer and fell toward him into a tight hug. He was alive, and that was all that mattered.

"Hi, Dad," I managed.

Under my arms, I could feel his shoulders relax and his chest release slightly. His left arm worked its way around my side and finally came to rest over my upper back.

"Hih-uh," he mumbled.

I didn't care how badly he had butchered my name. To me, that was one of the best sounds I had heard in several days.

I stayed in his embrace but stole a quick glance at Toothless, who was watching me intently. He blinked. After a second, he turned his gaze toward Astrid, then back toward me.

He had asked me a question in Night Fury. The best I could interpret, he was asking if I could fix Astrid too. I nodded slightly as a little smile found my face again. It would only take time, and somehow, I was sure we had plenty of that lying around.

My dad surprised me by bringing his right arm around and hugging me tighter. He held me for a few seconds, then relaxed. I slumped into the chair next to him, looking through the floor.

"Hiccuh," he whispered, pronouncing my name more clearly this time.

I craned my neck upward and looked at him. He nodded once in approval.

"I'm... p- _proud_ of you... s- _son_ ," he stammered. His mouth still wasn't fully under his control, but he was coming back around much more quickly than I thought when I first entered.

"I... It was Toothless," I stammered back. Internally, I chastised myself for making Toothless sound like everything was his fault. "I mean, Toothless scared the dragons away."

My dad took a deep breath and exhaled.

Just then, the door opened quietly. I turned to look at who was entering and found Gobber framed by the doorway. Instinctively, I tensed a little, preparing myself for something dumb to come out of his mouth again.

"Well, if it isn't Stoick..." he stated.

Inside I prayed he'd leave it at that and just go about his business.

"Shouldn't take long for Berk to return to normal," Gobber continued. He walked in and shut the door behind himself. He pulled up a chair and sat down with an exasperated sigh, leaning into his hand. He was about to say something that would come out wrong. I just knew it.

A thought burst into my mind. It quickly formed words in my mouth to use as a distraction for Gobber so he wouldn't foul the mood.

"I promised Astrid we'd do something at the Academy."

Both Gobber and my dad looked at me in confusion.

"Hiccup, why do you need to promise that? You're at the Academy every day."

"No, she said she had an idea about something after she watched Toothless jump at me from the snow."

"In the forest?" Gobber asked.

I scowled at him. "No, before I found Johann."

Gobber looked at my dad with a blank expression. "He's _your_ son."

My dad nodded in agreement. "I like him this way."

"Stoick, you have no idea how exhausting it was convincing him–"

"Oh, I bet I know what Astrid wanted to do," I interrupted. Both my dad and Gobber looked at me as I made a show of thinking for a second or two. "Probably something to do with an avalanche."

"Right..." Gobber trailed off. "But like I was saying, convincing him to just go out there and at least _try_ to get rid of those dragons was like pulling teeth. And that's not to say anything about how he deserted Johann and me to find his dragon again."

I slumped visibly, my face flushing. Gobber's proclamations about my behavior weren't going to be stopped, come lethal winter or Speed Stingers.

_Just get me out of here_ , I thought. _Please, something needs to happen_.

After a few seconds, my wish was granted. A loud gasping sound came from somewhere on my right. I turned toward the source and found Astrid's chest heaving.

"That can't be right," Gobber stated in mild shock. "It took Johann and Stoick much longer to recover."

I only watched in silence as Astrid writhed slowly on the floor. Stormfly shot a look at all three of us, warning us not to come any closer as she shuffled around Astrid, blocking our view of her.

"Maybe she got a weaker dose," I conjectured.


	30. Chapter 30

Stormfly was blocking most of my view of Astrid, and I was certain moving to get a better vantage point would result in a few tail spikes becoming airborne. It was everything I could do just to sit next to my dad and Gobber, listening helplessly as Astrid gasped like a fish out of water.

Even though she was mere feet away from me, not being able to see Astrid only heightened my anxiety about the coming moments. My right foot started bouncing, a small action to hopefully ease some of the worry that was rapidly building in my gut.

My dad's eyes were closed, like he was patiently waiting this entire production out. Gobber had an unfocused stare on his face.

Johann came limping down the stairs. Just like Gobber a few minutes ago, the world played out in slow motion as the words inexorably tumbled out of his mouth.

"Oh! Allow be to helb her!"

There was a brief pause as both Gobber and I had to bring ourselves back to reality to comprehend what was happening.

Johann half-limped, half-hopped toward Stormfly once he reached the ground floor.

"Johann, no!" Gobber finally shouted. He jumped up a second before I did, but our movements were much too late.

Astrid's dragon was eyeing Johann with a suspicious leer during his production, but when she saw he wouldn't stop, she whipped her head and neck around, grabbing a hold of his right arm with her teeth. She hissed with his arm in her mouth, then let go, pushing Johann away at the same time. He stumbled backward and fell on his rear.

_Figures,_ I thought. Had Gobber actually reached Johann, he probably would have tried to approach Astrid anyway. I slumped back down in my chair with a quiet groan, just hoping this craziness would end sometime before the snow thawed.

Johann sat there in shock for a second or two, then checked his right arm. His sleeve was punctured from Stormfly's teeth, but it was the only evidence he had of a Deadly Nadder bite.

"Let Astrid's dragon protect her," Gobber advised with a hint of a smile in his tone of voice.

Stormfly whuffed in irritation at Johann, then turned back toward Astrid, who had stopped gasping.

None of us dared to move. Toothless and Thornado had a clear view of Astrid, but neither of them did anything except stare at her.

After a few seconds, I felt someone's eyes on me. Looking around, I immediately found Toothless looking in my direction. He blinked, then returned his gaze toward Astrid.

"I dought Asdrid's drahgod was subbosed to be friehdly," Johann mused, finally connecting his arm to Stormfly's actions..

"She is, as long as you follow her rules," I said matter-of-factly. "Just be glad she didn't impale you with a tail spike."

The entire time Johann was sitting on the floor, Stormfly had her tail in his view, telling him not to try his little ruse again. Johann groaned, causing her to shift positions slightly, readying her tail for an attack. But instead of approaching Stormfly again, Johann slowly backed toward the wall.

Stormfly turned toward Astrid, who was panting. She nudged her head downward and pushed toward her right. Slowly, Astrid's upper body came into our view. After about five seconds, she stayed in position, acting as a support for Astrid.

Astrid had the exact same incoherent look my dad did when Toothless and I entered the house. Her mouth was slack, her shoulders were slumped, and her eyes looked like she was staring blankly through the wall in front of her.

Some of the tension built up in my shoulders released itself. Astrid was still worse for the wear, but being able to actually see her was reassuring.

"She's awake!" Gobber shouted excitedly. Both my dad and I flinched at his exclamation, and Stormfly responded with a deep hiss.

_Five minutes,_ I thought. _Count down from three hundred seconds._

I focused on listening to my breaths come and go, just trying to get my mind off of worrying about Astrid. She was going to be fine, and I guessed she'd take about the same amount of time to regain muscle control as my dad.

_Four minutes._

"Oh!" Johann shouted in realization. "I'b sure Ahstrid ahd her drahgod would certaidly abbreciate by recent escabe frob–"

"Johann, I'd be ecstatic to not hear that again," I interrupted. It didn't matter whether I knew what he was going to say. The problem was that once he started spinning a yarn, he wouldn't shut up until next week.

_Three minutes._

I glanced at Astrid again. Her eyes were still blank, but every now and then they focused on the wall in front of her.

"Astrid?" I asked quietly.

Her head turned slightly to her right, toward the direction of my voice.

Behind Astrid, Toothless grunted. He was sitting back on his haunches, staring directly at me again. His intense expression told me everything he was thinking. I had "fixed" Astrid, just like my dad.

_Two minutes._

Like she was made of wood or fused iron, Astrid painstakingly drew her knees in closer to her chest. She slowly planted her feet underneath her center of gravity and promptly keeled over to her right, crashing into Stormfly's flank. A frustrated groan escaped her throat.

Stormfly craned her neck and gently licked Astrid's cheek, encouraging her to try again.

_One minute._

This time, her movements were more purposeful. Astrid was able to get her feet underneath her much more quickly the second time. She stood, wobbling in what looked like dizziness. She took a step forward, her foot crashing into Stormfly's right leg. Her dragon jumped out of the way, and Astrid continued staggering forward at a snail's pace.

_Please don't fall now,_ I thought.

Luckily, my dad was thinking ahead and held onto her forearm. Each step she took brought more confidence, and that extreme focus in her eyes was slowly dissipating. She was returning to normal, exactly as I had predicted.

I couldn't help it any longer. I jumped up from my seat and rushed in for a hug, somehow staying mindful of Astrid's lack of balance at the moment. A huge grin split my face in two.

I wrapped my arms around her chest and whispered, "Hi, Astrid."

Underneath my embrace, I felt her shoulders drop several inches. She pulled in a deep breath and exhaled, a cloud of steam forming between us.

After a few seconds, she smiled.


End file.
